Lost Emotion
by Tiana Lanster
Summary: All Peter wanted was to live like a cat : far from the light and other people. And yet, fate made him cross the road of the SHIELD and the Avengers. Was it a sign of bad omens, or on the contrary a chance to finally be happy?
1. We want to talk to you

_Greetings to all._

_It's been a while since I was working on a fiction in relation to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (or MCU), as a great superhero lover I am. Well now that the last movies are out at the cinema, I can finally get started !_

_This story is an Alternate Universe. Some events have therefore been changed from the movies. Also, I advise you to read the prequel "Night of Ashes" for more details on the _

_story of__ Lost Emotion._

_If you spot any mistake, please tell me._

_I hope you like this story !_

_Enjoy your reading._

* * *

Dawn was beginning to appear in the neighborhood of Cobble Hill.

The red bricks of Brooklyn hoisted a pink tint with the sun, t hile the white walls hoisted a slightly blue tint. The streets were calm and silent, in contrast with the chaos and unstopping frenzy streets of Manhattan. Some stray cats roamed the sidewalks, looking a bit lost, before disappearing into the darkness of the alleyways.

Thomas stared outside from the window of his room. He liked to watch the dawn and see the colors of the buildings change little by little. It was his little morning ritual, an instant of tranquility which allowed him to empty his mind.

The young man lived alone in a modest home with gray, white and midnight blue colors. Its modern and spacious structure set it apart from the Victorian-style residences that people used to see in Brooklyn. Everything was clean and uncluttered, and the interior itself was comfortable and well equipped : TV, hi-tech kitchen and bathroom, wifi... The appropriate place for a loner like him. That said, although he has a home, Thomas has never bothered to put extravagant decorations since he moved into this little apartment a year ago. No paintings, no posters, no goodies or other derived products from his favorite movies and series. Nothing. Apart from a guitar and an MP3 that he bought himself, everything had remained as he had arrived. It was hard to believe that a sixteen years old teenager can live in such a cold and sober environment, moreover a mutant. However, the latter was not the type to indulge in luxury or eccentricity... His nature as an orphan and former prisoner had taught him to be content with the essential. As long as he had a roof where to sleep and the opportunity to live freely, the lack of fantasy between his walls didn't matter to him.

Thomas finally sigh, then went towards the kitchen to prepare breakfast consisting of a hot chocolate, toasts and fried eggs. he put his phone on the table, put on headphones and savored his meal while listening to music. Once satiated, the young man looked at the time displayed on his screen : It was eight thirty in the morning. The teenager then arranged his cutlery inside his dishwasher before going to his room to put on his shoes, a gray sweatshirt, a black coat and a black health mask over his face. Once dressed, Thomas came out of his apartment, closed the door with a double-turn and finally went outside to join his workplace, the Orange Sunset restaurant, where he worked as a waiter. A spring breeze gently caressed his skin as he walked.

The stroll lasted no more than fifteen minutes, and the young man arrived very quickly in front of the Diner. Morning customers began to line up in front of the entrance, mainly employees wanting to have a hearty meal before going to the four corners of the boroughs of New York. All were regulars of the Orange Sunset, and they always answered present for the opening of this atypical place. Why atypical ? Because the entire staff of the restaurant were orphan teenagers of 16 and 17 years old. The boss, Cameron Owen, heir of a wealthy family and philanthropist, wanted to show to the public that minors emancipated for lack of adoption could take care of themselves very well. Many were initially skeptical about this project, thinking that these young employees couldn't keep up with the pace of life in the world of work for a long time. And yet, their goodwill and sociability got the better of people's mistrust.

Thomas left behind the Diner and entered the building through a staff door. He walked down the halls to the cloakroom, where he donned his waiter uniform in less than five minutes. As he finished closing the last button of his jacket, the door opened behind him. An adult figure loomed through it, curly brown hair stopping at the neck, black glasses resting on his nose, elegantly dressed and smiling.

"**Hello Thomas.**" _Politely greeted Mr. Owen._

"**Hello boss.**" _Replied the latter with a small smile._

"**You look fine.**"

"**Yes, sir.** **I'm always ready for another day of work** **!**"

"**I see that.**" _Gingerly laughed the_ _boss of the restaurant._

Then the two men headed to the main hall, where Thomas's teammates worked to complete the final preparations to greet the customers. Footsteps caught the attention of the small team, and everyone turned to greet their employer and their friend. The young man helped his companions to check the premises so that everything was clean and functional, then everyone met in the kitchen to do a debriefing.

"**Everyone is present** **?**" _Mr. Owen asked._

**"Yes boss** **!**" _Said_ _all the employees with one voice._

"**Good.** **I guess you already know the rules very well, but a small booster is never too much** **: the morning is the calmest time of the day.** **Stay relaxed and focused, but keep a certain pace to** **maintain your strength** **for the afternoon.** **Your lunch break will be held at 1 pm, and service will resume at 2 pm.** **And if any of you find yourself in trouble, whatever the reason, don't hesitate to tell me.** **It's okay for you** **?**"

"**Yes Boss** **!**"

"**Perfect.** **So it's time to open** **!** **Everyone in place** **!**"

Mr. Owen left the kitchen and went to the bar. He turned on the lights, lifted the iron curtains that protected the glass panes and turned the entrance sign face "OPEN". The day could finally begin.

Since the customers were few and they all came to take the Breakfast menu, only four out of the eight waiters were active, while the eight cooks were all in the kitchen. Thomas took advantage of this moment of respite to go to a rest room and join three of his comrades : Leon, his best friend and partner in crime, Phoebe, his second best friend and Lauren, a rebellious girl with a big heart. All were precocious children who grew up in the same orphanage, Forescent, previously located in Brooklyn before being destroyed by a fire. That explained their perfect coordination and why they got along so well. Even if they didn't have families, even if they were not linked by blood, it didn't matter for them... All sixteen were like siblings, ready to do anything to help each other and to protect each other.

"**Hey, Tom** **!**" _Said Leon, Phoebe and Lauren._

"**Hey, guys.**"

"**Well slept** **?**" _Lauren asked._

"**I guess, and you** **?**"

"**I** **spent a lot of** **my time** **playing Team Fortress 2... So much that I** **didn't** **go** **to bed early** **yesterday.**" _Leon confessed with a big smile_.

"**Same.** **I spent my evening** **on** **Overwatch.** **It was so satisfying to see idiots raging on the chat** **!**" _Lauren had the same smile on her lips._

Thomas rolled his eyes, while Phoebe giggled at the assertions of her colleagues. The young man sat next to his best friend. The four teenagers told each other little anecdotes that they lived or heard, then they had fun playing the "one second, one word" game, where they have to pronounce a word or a name as quickly as possible. Everyone willingly practiced the exercise, and several laughters ensued when one of them took the others by surprise.

The mutant greatly appreciated the company of his companions of the orphanage. Leon and Phoebe were his best friends since they were young, and were always ready to help if needed. Lauren was an excellent diplomat and never let anyone make fun of her or her closed ones. Noah and Kenna possessed a foolproof mental strength and determination. Allen and Ellen were outstanding strategists. Caleb and Amber were good observers and had impressive learning abilities. Sebastian, Evan and Jonathan were the strongest fighters of the group. Rebecca, Meghan and Jessie, meanwhile, knew demonstrate ingeniosity to any complicated situation. They were his allies, color fragments which brightened up his daily life.

Mr. Owen suddenly entered into the rest room.

"**Ah, you are here.**"

"**Don't worry, boss, we didn't run away.**" _Thomas said casually._

"**Hahaha, I guess, otherwise I would have seen you escape through** **the back door.**"

"**Oh my god** **!** **You are Big Brother** **!**" _Screamed_ _Leon and Lauren with a_ _theatrical_ _manner._

"**Yes, I'm Big Brother... And you're** **all my** **hostages** **!**" _Mr. Owen wore a devilish smile_ _and then took_ _the two teenagers in his arms, before laughing all three like children._

Phoebe and Thomas stared at each other for a moment, then they both nodded and threw themselves on their boss. Mr. Owen didn't protest and took the time to tap the backs of his four employees huddled against him, smiling fondly at them. The quarantine was the mentor of these sixteen orphans and helped them in all the steps to get up and move forward. He too had gone through this terrible ordeal of finding himself alone in the world without knowing what future awaited him beyond the walls of his former boarding school in London. He understood perfectly well the pain of growing up on the margins of others and the feeling that he couldn't count on anyone. But he'd managed to get by when he became an adult, and he was planning to help his protégés as he would have liked to be helped at their age.

Once released from any pressure against him, the manager of the Orange Sunset asked his waiters at rest to store the freshly arrived deliveries in the food reserve. They ran without further delay : Thomas and Leon took care of sorting the various goods and depositing them in optimal storage conditions, while Phoebe and Lauren took stock of the food available to see if they were out of stock or not. The work was very fast at four, so it took only half an hour to complete the storage and referencing. And to say that at the beginning, they put an entire hour to accomplish these two tasks... Now, they beat speed records.

Seeing that it was past ten, the four friends decided it was time to support their colleagues because more and more customers flocked to the restaurant. They took their trays, the menus and warm towels on their forearms, and then began their service. The peak of attendance came around noon, drastically changing the calm of the early hours of the day, but they didn't lose the pace and chained orders like one man. And before they knew it, it was lunch time for the staff.

Thomas had prepared the day before meatballs with tomato sauce, rice and cooked potatoes. Since his enhanced metabolism was developing faster than normal, he needed to eat a lot of food to stay in shape. So he always tried to never stay long with an empty stomach, at the risk of his superhuman abilities weakening and collapse with exhaustion. The advantage of his job was that he learned both to serve the dishes and cooking, allowing him to prepare varied and balanced meals. In addition, his co-workers were aware of his powers, so they could know how to react when he showed signs of exhaustion.

Leon and Phoebe sat next to him, and discussed together for a while.

"**By the way, you've planned something tomorrow afternoon, Tom** **?**" _Leon_ _asked, eating a big fork of spaghetti._

"**Apart** **to sleep, nothing in particular.**"

"**We thought we would** **have** **a grouped party tomorrow night all together.** **It had been a while since we hadn't seen a movie all sixteen.**" _Phoebe explained._

"**Yep.** **Especially since Caleb** **has found** **lots of DVDs lately.**"

"**Affirmative** **!**" _The latter confirmed, sitting not far_ _from them, raising his_ _left_ _arm high_ _._

Thomas couldn't help but smirk. Caleb was a big moviegoer and never missed the opportunity to find movies wherever he went, be it popular movies or unknown finds.

"**Okay, why** **not.** **We're going to Jessie's house, as usual** **?**"

"**Yeah.** **She prepared everything for the occasion.** **We can even stay at her house for the night** **!**" _Phoebe made a V with her fingers._

"**I think someone would be happy to hear** **that...**" _Leon_ _noticed_ _quietly, observing Evan._ _All_ _three smiled maliciously._

The time of the resumption of service resounds. All Orange Sunset employees packed their belongings and then returned to their places in the kitchen and reception. The affluence decreased drastically after fourteen thirty, much to the relief of the staff who managed to take a breath between two orders. Thomas didn't even see the time pass since his gestures were mechanical and meticulous. Being accustomed to having organized life settings since childhood, working in a restaurant didn't seem to be anything binding to him. That was a simple execution of repetitive tasks loop : as long as he remained focused on what he had to do, the days never seemed long.

About twenty-one o'clock, closing time of the Diner, the last customers left. Mr. Owen flipped the panel attached to the front entrance on "CLOSED". Then he closed the iron curtains, while Thomas and his colleagues took care of the storage. Once the place was perfectly clean, the sixteen teenagers went to change in the cloakrooms, satisfied with this new ending day. Everyone went out from the back of the Orange Sunset at the same time, minutes apart, then they said goodbye to each other before going home on their own.

On the way back, Thomas put on his headphones to listen music. A piece of jazz played to his ears, slow and melodious, mixing perfectly with the quiet environment of Cobble Hill. It gave him the impression of being in a romanticized Brooklyn in old movies of the 60s. The young man was lulled by the melody, enjoying the night atmosphere that reigned around him. The night was clear, but the sky was totally black. Not a single star shone, as if they had been swallowed by darkness. The only source of light that illuminated the streets were street lights and car headlights.

This sky recalled Thomas the day when misfortune struck his fate... His parents, his uncle and aunt were killed by four men when he was only eight years old, before his former home in Queens was reduced to ashes by a fire. Only he escaped death thanks to the intervention of Iron Man. The boy was later placed at the Forescent Orphanage in Brooklyn where he was able to find a form of peace. Unfortunately, it was short-lived when HYDRA, the most dangerous criminal organization in the world, took him by surprise and kidnapped him in a rainy night. There followed long sessions of experimentation, imprisonment and constant oppression, where his body was transformed into a spying tool, and later on mutant. It was during this time that he learned that HYDRA was actually the leader of the men who murdered his family. Enraged, the young boy decided to take revenge against the criminal organization by silently attacking them from the inside, like a virus. It was after three years, under a dark sky devoid of stars, that Thomas regained his freedom by exploding the last existing HYDRA bases around the globe.

Since that day, the teenager led a cat life, hidden among the citizens of New York. He was content to live from day to day without ever using his powers, except in cases of extreme urgency - which has happened only rarely since he resided at Cobble Hill. He didn't aspire to a grand future or recognition... All he wanted was to lead a peaceful and anonymous existence.

By the time Thomas arrived at the foot of his apartment building, the music stopped . He entered the lobby, took the elevator and went up to the second floor. Once at the door of his apartment, the young man thrust the key into the lock to open it. However, he noticed, not without some surprise, that it has been hooked.

_Why the door is open_ _?_ _I had closed_ _it_ _this morning._

Thomas suddenly had a bad feeling... He carefully opened the door, then silently closed it behind him. He watched the living room in every detail : the windows weren't broken and no objects had been moved. He did the same with the kitchen. Same result. Everything was in order as when he was gone. The young man quickly deduced that it wasn't a burglary. But he remained still on guard... If the lock was left open, then the person who went inside his home was probably still present within these walls.

The mutant sneaked up to his room, ready to react to any suspicious noise. The door was strangely ajar. Thomas decided to open it to understand what was happening. And while his view became accustomed to the brightness of the room...

"**It's a very clean apartment.**" _Commented a voice._ "**Maybe** **a little** **uniform, but no less** **pleasant.**"

The teenager's eyes were wide open, his face struggling to hide his shock... The mysterious visitor who talked to him was a woman. In view of her appearance, she must have been in her thirties. She was dressed in a gray turtleneck shirt, a dark blue coat, black pants and boots. Her brown hair was tied up in a bun, small strands were falling down her ears, and her sky-blue eyes seemed to analyze him in every features. Thomas didn't know how to react... It had been so long since he had spoken to another adult that Mr. Owen that this situation seemed to him completely out of the ordinary. But he managed to control his mind as well as he could see that the person in front of him didn't show any hostility. He took a breath, then asked in a taciturn voice :

"**Who are you** **?**"

The young woman continued to observe him without a word for several seconds, her face impassive. Then she took a few steps forward towards him, before stopping.

"**My name is Maria Hill, ****Assistant Director****of SHIELD. ****We want**** to ****talk to ****you... Peter Benjamin Parker.**"


	2. Trick of fate

_Never a chapter will have took me so much effort for writing... I must say that I care about every detail in my stories. Fortunately, there wouldn't be such a consistent chapter for a while (though, knowing me...)._

_If there is any mistakes, feel free to tell me._

_NB: the action is happening in early 2018._

* * *

Of all the possible scenarios that Thomas had imagined when he discovered the lock of his apartment open, it was certainly the last one he expected.

The young boy was someone careful. His training as a spy had taught him that the slightest physical or verbal information could bring to light his true identity. He understood it when he first contacted the SHIELD for forming an alliance with them. The smallest word was important in mind games. So he borrowed the name "Cain" to be considered as an external hacker in the eyes of both organizations. But even with these precautions, Thomas was aware that his temporary allies sought to search who is hidden behind this surname... Then the teenager put up a simple strategy : once HYDRA was considerably weakened by the repeated attacks of their enemies, Cain took the decision to "sacrifice his life" to deliver the final strike to the criminal organization by annihilating the last existing bases on Earth at one time. Thus, the latter would be considered dead with the collateral victims that ensued, and would become "Thomas Flanders" again to make a fresh start. He even took care to erase all traces of DNA or fingerprint on every trackers he had left behind.

So how did SHIELD were able to find him ? Especially since Maria Hill had not called her by his orphan name... She had called him by his birth name.

Thomas couldn't hide his trouble. His back was frozen and his body petrified with stupor, so much that he stopped breathing. However, his shock was shorter than the previous one. On reflection, the intelligence agency had probably conducted a long investigation shortly after the fall of Hydra to drill the identity of the one who helped them for that purpose. Especially since his multiple hacks in their computer core had made him see the full extent of their databases, which had nothing to envy to those of the CIA or the FBI. There is no doubt that the SHIELD would sooner or later have preferred a track concerning former partners who collaborated with them.

In any case, the mutant realized that it was useless to feign ignorance in front of the young woman. He sighed as his face had being serious again.

**"How have you** **found** **me** **?"** _He asked Hill._

The assistant director was surprised by the boy's calm behaviour, but willingly answered his question.

**"We** **have conducted several investigations** **on various events that have occurred in** **the** **last years.** **Some of them** **were officially declared as accidents,** **but** **many** **strangely similar** **elements** **suggested** **that it was** **a criminal motive."**

_I see... Since SHIELD was watching_ _HYDRA_ _very closely_ _because of their affiliation to_ _many economic and political crises,_ _it_ _wasn't_ _hard_ _to imagine that_ _these demons_ _have_ _caused the burning of my old house and the Forescent orphanage_ _for a very specific reason._ Thomas thought.

**"... It can be said that HYDRA had a certain affection for fire."** _The young boy said indifferently._

**"Sounds like it."**

A silence settled. Thomas looked deep into the eyes of his interlocutor, and she did the same. Few words were needed to read each other's thoughts : Thomas knew that the head of the secret society wanted to meet him, and Hill knew that the young boy quickly deduced the reason for her presence.

The former spy sighed out of habit.

**"I guess it's the Director Fury who sent you here."**

**"Indeed."**

Again, a short silence.

**"What do you want from me** **?"** _Thomas's tone became more suspicious._

**"A simple discussion between agents."** _Maria answered confidently._

An indirect answer... That wasn't surprising. Hill choose her words carefully and didn't tell him more than her superior asked her to say. If he wanted to know why Nick Fury put so much effort into finding him, he had to speak with the man in person.

Thomas and the assistant director of SHIELD agreed to make an appointment at the agency the next day at ten o'clock. The mutant wanted to ask the young woman if Mr. Owen had been aware of this, but he finally preferred to keep quiet. His boss was formerly a member of the organization, Agent Cameron Owen, renowned for his shooting and fighting skills as well as his exceptional intelligence. However, despite a promising future, the man left the SHIELD after five years of service. Thomas had never insisted on knowing the reasons for his departure, but he suspected that it must be something serious.

Maria Hill finally left, not before giving the orphan SHIELD's contact information so that he could contact them. Thomas heard the footsteps getting farther and farther from him then the front door closing. He sighed heavily and collapsed on his bed, releasing all the pressure off his shoulders. He couldn't remember when was the last time he had to keep calm for so long in front of the unexpected... His chaotic thoughts gradually subsided as he let himself be cradled by the silence of his room.

Out of curiosity, the young boy looked at the paper Hill had given him. The address was close to the Avengers Tower, located in the heart of Manhattan. Since he lived in Brooklyn, it was more than an hour of driving between the two boroughs.

_I wouldn't have time to go_ _to work tomorrow_ _morning._ He thought with a new sigh.

Thomas became thoughtful... He wondered if he should talk about this strange conversation to Mr. Owen. The adult was one of the first to be aware of his spider powers and agreed to help him without hesitation. It was thanks to him that he was able to see his childhood friends again and live as a decent person. It would be unfair not to return the favor after all the support he has given him for over a year. In addition, having previously worked for SHIELD, he would know what to expect from the intelligence agency. The young boy took his phone and dialed the number of his boss.

**"Hello** **?** _Replied Cameron, still awake._

**"Good evening, Mr. Owen."**

**"Thomas** **?** **Are you okay** **?"**

**"Yes, I'm fine.** **Well…"** _The mutant looked for his words so as not to worry his superior._ **"Something happened at my place."**

**"What is it ?"** _The adult asked, anxious for his protégé._

Thomas explained to him what he had just experienced a few minutes ago. Mr. Owen let the mutant speak without interrupting him, and he had a hard time hiding his surprise.

**"The** **SHIELD have found you** **?"**

**"Yes... I don't know how they proceeded, but** **they managed to find me.** **Moreover, the Agent Hill didn't called me by my orphan name... But by my real name."** _The former spy whispered_ _this last words, disturbed to hear again that name he had abandoned_ _nine years ago._

**"They've probably been looking for leads** **in their** **physical** **and** **digital** **databases,** **kept in a secret place** **that only** **the director** **and the assistant director have access.** **All confidential informations must exist in two** **versions** **by a protocol** **of security and secrecy preservation."**

**"I see...** **In any case, they** **know who I am and** **gave me an appointment** **tomorrow morning** **in their premises.** **But I doubt that they "just" want to discuss with me... if they understood that "Thomas Flanders" isn't my real name, so there's a high chance that they also** **know** **that I am a mutant."**

**"It's** **possible.** **Nick Fury is the kind of person to know much more than one can think of."** _Thomas felt that Mr. Owen's voice was bitter at the end of his sentence._

There was a silence. Then the mutant sighed softly.

**"I don't really have a choice, anyway.** **I would go see Director Fury.** **I'll listen to what he have to say to me, then I'll quickly go outside."**

**"... Fine.** **I'll give you tomorrow day.** **Let me know if anything is happening, okay** **?"**

**"Sure.** **Good night, boss."**

**"Good night, Thomas."**

The call stopped. Exhausted by this long day and his brief meeting with Maria Hill, Thomas decided to go to bed earlier than planned. He put on his pajamas, turned off the lights, and wrapped himself in his blankets. He then took his MP3 on his bedside table and listened to soft music until he finally fell asleep.

* * *

Thomas instinctively opened his eyes as he felt the rays of the sun appear through the curtains.

He looked at the time on his phone and saw that it was seven o'clock and a half. The young boy got up from bed, put on a sweatshirt and sat on the windowsill to see the daybreak color Cobble Hill. He didn't get tired of this show, so simple and beautiful. It was one of the few habits that he kept from his childhood, and probably one of the only memories he could remember without hurting him. Even if, contrary to his routine days, Thomas didn't know if this dawn was a harbinger of favorable or hostile augurs.

An hour passed. The mutant, after a muffled yawn, went to the bathroom and let the hot water of the shower invigorate him. He was able to empty his mind and catch his breath. Once dressed, Thomas decided to stay in the living room while waiting to receive a message from a SHIELD agent who would escort him to Manhattan. He sat on the couch and checked the state of his spy arsenal. Even if he had stopped being a hacker, the young boy had still kept his equipment "just in case". His optimized wristbands were his best weapons, as he forged them secretly from wakandian technologies. There were many functions implanted : force fields, webshooters, photons retractable blade, holograms projection and laser system. Everything was good to protect himself and others, hence the fact that he kept them permanently on the wrists.

Thomas threw some webs on the ceiling and then pressed the blue circle of his right wristband, which made them dissolve without leaving any trace. He then shot two of them, then pressed the circle of his left wristband, and only the last hurled web dissolves. The young boy erased everything before turning on his computer and checking that everything was reset as he had programmed it after his escape from Ichor.

Suddenly, the phone vibrated on the coffee table. Thomas saw that it was a message :

_"I wait for you_ _outside."_

**"They were fast."** _He said to himself in a low voice._

The mutant put his arsenal in his place, checked that everything was off, took some things with him and finally decided to go out. When he was out of his building, Thomas saw a black Sedan park a few meters from him. A man in a suit came out and approached him, looking professional.

**"Pleased to meet you,** **Mr.** **Flanders.** **My name is** **Phil** **Coulson,** **agent of SHIELD.** **The Director Fury has charged me to drive you to him."**

The mutant just shook the adult's hand in silence. He then entered the car and sat down on the front seat, alongside the agent. Both of them finally left Brooklyn under a blue sky devoid of clouds. Thomas spent his time watching the landscape scroll by the window, his eyes empty, without addressing a word to his driver. He had the impression of returning a few years back, the day he was brought to the orphanage for the first time... The pattern was repeated again, but this time in different circumstances.

Instinctively, Thomas's gaze turned to Coulson. Although he had barely know him, the mutant quickly deduced that the adult was one of the more experienced agent of SHIELD. He seemed to be used to field missions and tactical operations. The young boy remembered that when he was listing the HYDRA's moles infiltrated within the intelligence agency, the name of Phil Coulson was at the top of the hierarchy alongside Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton. It thus proved the important role of the man within the secret society.

Thomas stayed quiet for a short time, then decided to talk to him.

**"Mr. Coulson** **?"**

**"Yes** **?"**

**"You have been aware of my true identity, isn't it** **?"**

**"Indeed, I know that your real name is Peter Parker, son of the scientists Richard and Mary Parker, and that you contacted us during three years under the identity** **of** **"Cain"."**

_So they know not only my name, but also my affiliation... And the fact that I_ _was_ _a double agent._

**"...** **How** **did you discovered that** **I was** **Cain** **?"** _Cautiously asked the mutant._

**"Several** **SHIELD** **complexes** **were victims of cyber-attacks** **in** **2012\. Nick Fury commissioned me to do this investigation,** **where in the meantime I had to solve the case of the** **fire** **of an orphanage that took place in the same year,** **because** **it has been reported to us that HYDRA agents were seen** **on the spot** **the day before the crime.** **A** **month have passed between** **this incident** **and the first cyber-attacks, which** **led me to** **hypothesize** **that the two events were linked."**

**"So you assumed that one of the children of the orphanage** **had been abducted by HYDRA and trained** **as a spy.** **Since your enemies were known to use people as guinea pigs, the idea that they manipulate orphans to turn them into soldiers seemed plausible to you.** **And one by one,** **as you** **pick up the pieces of** **this strange case,** **you come to understand that "Thomas Flanders"** **and "Cain"** **were the same person."** _Completed Thomas, easily interpreting the reasoning of the adult._

Coulson was really surprised by the speed of understanding of the young boy. He seemed to be expecting this answer in advance, and he only needed a few sentences to confirm his hypotheses. The agent became more aware of the boy's intelligence, which reminded him of Tony Stark for a second.

**"Well... You're smart."** _Admits Coulson._

**"Next to** **the** **numerous tests** **that HYDRA gave m****e****, it** **was a child's play."**

Thomas went silent after that sentence, and looked at the window again. The two men arrived in Manhattan, then ended up rushing inside an underground parking lot. Coulson took the mutant to an elevator. He pushed the button to the highest floor and climbed up a glass tunnel. For a good five minutes, the former spy focused on his breathing. The last thing he wanted was to have a panic attack in front of one of SHIELD's top agents. That said, Thomas relativised by saying that he has survived much worse in the past and that despite the misfortunes that fell on him, he managed to get up and go forward. It probably wouldn't be different today.

Once on the top floor of what the former spy assumed was one of the bases of the secret society, he and Coulson walked along a long corridor with gray walls. A few employees crossed their path, and when they looked curiously at the young boy, Nick Fury's right hand answered them politely "he's with me, don't worry".

The two men finally arrived in front of a big black metal door. The agent knocked three times on it.

**"Director Fury, Agent Coulson here.** **I'm with Mr. Parker."**

The door opened automatically. Thomas entered the room, followed by Coulson, and saw a black bearded man with an eye patch over his left eye and a leather jacket sitting behind a metal desk, with a large window on his back. The latter looked at him with a serious and piercing manner, which made the mutant shiver slightly.

**"Thank you, Coulson.** **You can dispose."** _Fury said to his agent._

**"Yes, Colonel."** _The man turned around and left the room._ _The door automatically closed behind him._

Thomas was now alone with Nick Fury. The director continued to watch him for a few seconds, and the young boy instinctively supported his gaze. He felt his pendant warm up against his skin.

**"Sit down, please."** _The director asked, nodding the seat in front of the desk._ _Thomas complied immediately._ **"Sorry to make you come here so early, but I wanted to make sure no one bothered us during our interview."**

**"I stopped counting my nights for a long time."**

The director of SHIELD gave a short sigh.

**"I must** **admit that your** **plan was impressive.** **Parasiting HYDRA from the inside by stopping all their attacks in advance by communicating secretly with us, while being smart enough to** **erase the slightest trace of your hacking and thus fool not only your jailers but also the SHIELD...** **It was brilliant."**

**"This is one of the few benefits** **of being a John Doe."**

There was silence. Thomas looked around to see if there were video or audio recording devices in the room, but he found none. The mutant had confirmation that Nick Fury wanted this discussion to be private and that no one from the government was aware of its existence. It reassured him a little, although he was still on his guard... Although he was not under pressure by the director of SHIELD, the teenager knew he could hardly lie to him. Well, what did he have to hide anyway ? The two SHIELD agents he had met so far didn't even hide the fact that they knew his true identity. Thomas decided to forget all mask and be honest.

**"Director Fury.** **I would like to know one thing...** **How did you know my parents** **?"** _Thomas's face remained emotionless._

The colonel was surprised by the coolness of the young boy. For a brief moment, he had the impression of seeing Agent Romanoff facing him, unshakeable and cold as ice. However, Fury stayed calm, put his elbows on the table and pulled his folded hands near his chin.

**"The ****SHIELD remotely monitors several strategic locations around the world that criminals like HYDRA would likely attack,** **such as** **military** **or** **scientific** **complexes.** **Oscorp was one of them because it was specialized in experimental science, military research and inter-species genetics."**

_This explains how my father and mother managed to create a_ _genetically modified_ _spider._ Thomas thought.

**"It was** **in this society** **that we** **heard about the reputation of Dr. Richard Parker and his wife.** **I** **approached and** **ask****ed them** **about** **working for SHIELD to ensure their safety.** **They** **refused to leave Oscorp, but agreed to** **stay in contact with** **the** **agency.** **I learned** **one day** **from Dr.** **Parker that Mary had given birth to a child.** **This was the last** **conversation I had with him** **before he died with his family in his own house.** **At that time, the SHIELD was mobilized around the world to** **search** **for** **individuals who** **could** **integrate the Avengers Initiative Project, in addition to** **subsequent** **missions** **and regular confrontations with HYDRA.** **It's only much later that** **we have** **discovered** **that** **the criminal organization** **took advantage of a surprise attack at Triskel** **to** **commit** **this targeted assassination."**

Thomas expected it, in a way. Although SHIELD was the most powerful peacekeeping agency in the world, they were nonetheless human. They couldn't predict all the tricks of their enemies, even with an extreme vigilance. Some things were unfortunately just victims of fate. The death of his family was a proof of that.

**"The police officially closed the case as an "accident" who killed eight people.** **But we knew it wasn't the case."** _Nick_ _Fury_ _snorts._ "**The** **SHIELD has** **therefore** **decided to do an independent survey about this murder.** **Unfortunately, the fire burned down the entire crime scene, including the bodies of the victims.** **After** **a long investigation and the arrest of a mole** **who participated in this assassination project,** **we have clarified several black spots of the case** **: The** **murderers** **of the Parker scientists were under the orders of HYDRA** **and no child body was declared by the investigators.** **The conclusion was simple** **: Dr. Richard and his wife's son was still alive."**

The rest of the story appeared obvious for the mutant : SHIELD continued to investigate in secret without the National Security Council suspecting anything, even if this research was many times compromised because of the various threats that the secret society and the Avengers had to face these recent years (such as the arrival of Loki and Chitauris on Earth or HYDRA as a constant enemy). The teenager knew that the intelligence agency would be busy protecting the world than finding someone who doesn't exist, and used this priority to put out any interest in him, going as far as to fake his death. But he seems to have underestimated SHIELD's determination.

Once he had finished speaking, the Director Fury got up and looked at the city of New York behind the window. Thomas only listened to the colonel without saying anything, attentive to the slightest word of the adult, and have a small idea of his coming in the base... But before that, the mutant wanted to dispel a doubt that never stopped haunting him for nine years.

**"Did** **May and Ben know about my parents's activities** **?"** _Thomas asked_ _in a_ _blank_ _voice._

**"No, they didn't know anything."** _Fury replied, turning to the young boy._

It was enough for Thomas to understand that his uncle and aunt were involuntarily involved in the bloody slaughter that took their lives. May and Ben were just innocent victims swept into a conflict that exceeded them. His hands that held his folded arms tightened firmly against the sleeves of his jacket and he kept his head down, his bangs hiding his eyes. These gestures didn't escape the director of SHIELD. He then leaned against the desk while still holding his gaze on the teenager.

**"Your parents did everything** **to protect you.** **They went so far as** **to camouflage** **your civil status** **if the worst happened to them."** _Nick Fury's tone was calm._ _He was neither accusator nor scornful,_ _although_ _he_ _remained impassive as_ _the experienced spy he was._

Ah... So his parents had planned everything, huh ?

**"... My father spoke to you before dying, right** **?** **What did he tell you** **?"**

There was a silence. Then Fury answered him :

**"Protect my son, and make him** **live in the light."**

God did Thomas's throat burned him. This sentence was certainly the kind of thing his father would say... His fists kept their pressure on the fabric of his clothes. Seeing no reaction from the young boy but understanding that he heard him, the adult sat back on his chair.

**"We don't want to harm you,** **Peter Parker,** **and we have no intention to separate you from your closed ones.** **However,** **even though HYDRA has been destroyed, criminal organizations of their caliber still exist around the world.** **So in order to avoid any danger** **to** **you, it's better that you stay under the protection of SHIELD.** **We couldn't save you that day, you and your family... I want to make up for that mistake by honoring Dr. Parker's last wishes."**

Thomas's brain tried to absorb everything Nick Fury had revealed to him... He knew that his parents had been in contact with the government by hacking the HYDRA databases during his captivity. It made sense that they ended up knowing the SHIELD and giving them confidential informations that they couldn't afford to disclose to anyone, since there was the risk that said information would turn against them. And if his father asked the secret society - and only them - to protect his child after his death, it was because he thought they were qualified to garantee the safety of his son.

The mutant caught his breath and relaxed his fingers, while putting his mind in order. He felt the adult's eye intensely fix him, which appeared to him as his natural gaze throughout his speech. He knew he was waiting for an answer. Once his head was fully rested, Thomas looked up at Nick Fury with a determined and emotionless manner, without fear or hesitation.

**"I think you have another goal in your mind, Director Fury."**

The colonel's fingers stiffened slightly. This little gesture made the former spy understand that his instinct was right.

**"After Agent Hill's visit in my apartment, I** **wanted to see if my** **spy arsenal was still functional.** **I have** **noticed that my computer had been recently turned on.** **But** **it had been a year since I hadn't touched or even removed it.** **Moreover,** **I remember very well having resetting the computer and left it out once I moved to Brooklyn.** **And when Agent Coulson took me here, he revealed to me that** **he knew** **I was Cain, the hacker who allowed you to get rid of the moles infiltrated** **inside the SHIELD.** **Taking count of this information** **and your speech,** **I came to this conclusion..."**

Thomas uncrossed his arms and laid them on the table, while supporting Nick Fury's gaze.

**"What you want, Director Fury, is the datas that I stole** **from your and HYDRA's computer core** **for four years."**

The director of SHIELD didn't answer. But Thomas wasn't a fool... He knew very well the words manipulation and hidden interests.

**"Since you** **know** **I am** **a former spy** **able to hack any system,** **you** **have** **doubted** **that** **I finished** **to discover** **the secrets** **of your organization,** **which** **even** **the Avengers are not aware of.** **It must be said that it wouldn't be very professional to** **tell them** **that you have been infiltrated from within by your enemies.** **Moreover, if this data were to fall into the wrong hands, it could turn against you and, in the end, undermine the stability of SHIELD like HYDRA.** **That's why you sent two** **a****gents** **searching for me** **: one to** **recover** **the** **stolen** **datas, and the other** **to lead me to you if she doesn't find them."**

Nick Fury remained expressionless like a statue, but he was stunned by Thomas's deductive abilities. He suspected that Dr. Parker's child would be smart and resourceful - especially for escaping HYDRA's control for so long, but he was far from imagining he was so intelligent... This kid was a genius. Before he could answer him, the young boy spoke again.

**"I don't doubt that you knew my parents.** **I don't doubt either that my father asked you to protect me if something happened to him.** **That said, it**'**s not impossible** **for you to use** **his last wishes** **to make sure that I don't cause any problem for you, especially by being aware of my abilities... But** **you wanna know something** **?** **I don't care about those datas."** _Said Thomas_ _with a detached air._

This last sentence took the director of SHIELD by surprise.

**"I don't care about your secrets or** **the** **government's projects.** **The only thing that mattered to me was** **to** **take revenge on HYDRA for breaking** **my life.** **And now that it's done, those datas** **are** **useless for me.** **And to prove you my good faith..."**

Thomas took a pen out of his jacket pocket, uncorked it and pulled out two USB keys hidden inside.

**"I took them with me.** **Four years of hacking preserved in these USB keys.** **You can keep them, I don't intend to use them again.** **I have no intention of interfering in your activities.** **Do whatever you want with** **those datas, it doesn't** **concern** **me.** **The interests of high-ranking people have never interested me."**

Silence fell again in the office. The message was clear to Nick Fury : Thomas doesn't intend to put his guard down towards him. It was clearly visible in his chilling eyes, which were devoid of sparkle. He was expecting it somehow... It's not like the Avengers were doing the same. Moreover, being a former survivor of HYDRA, it made sense to him that the boy was reluctant to be approached by a secret organization resembling the one who imprisoned him for years. The director of SHIELD snorts, understanding that continuing to be stubborn won't be a good move for him.

**"You really are the son of the Parker scientists.** _Fury replied._ **Yes, that's right, we know about your three identities.** **And those stolen datas were actually one of the reasons we brought you here. However, I want to correct you on some points... When I said that I wanted to respect Dr. Parker's last wishes, it wasn't a lie. Especially since you have developed powers due to his genetic experiments."**

**"That was the only thing I had not planned when going to Oscorp... Or even that my parents were working there at the time." **_Replicated the mutant._

**"I know. That's why SHIELD is committed to protect you and keeping your life secret."**

"**... You ask me to become an agent, right ?"**

**"Yes. Your hacking skills, your intelligence and your powers are assets that can save thousands of people, even if it's not the same way the Avengers would do. They know how to act in battlefields, but they lack a comrade ****who supports them from the sidelines****. Your help will be useful during their missions."**

Thomas widened his eyes and looked at Nick Fury with a stunned look. Had he heard it right ?

**"Извините** **?** _The young boy couldn't help expressing his surprise by speaking russian. _**You want me to be the Avengers apprentice** **?** **Why** **?** **You already have two spies assassins, a super soldier, two of the greatest geniuses of this generation whom one has an armor and the other can turn into a monster, and even a god. What's the meaning for them to have by their side an orphan with an emo look that only think about paying his apartment by being a waiter ?"**

**"They will be able to guarantee your safety and train you to develop your superhuman capacities. I don't need to have two eyes to understand that you already know how to control them, but you don't seem to have exploited them to their full potential."**

For once, Thomas was unable to answer... It's true that he had never asked questions about his powers. The teen had only used them in specific situations. And even then, he relied above all on his intelligence and his spider sense, very little on his web and almost never on his strength. Now that he was older, Thomas was aware that he was more enduring and stronger than normal people, so he had to control his abilities so that it would be useful to him in his daily life without suspecting his mutant nature. However, he had to admit that Nick Fury was right : although his body is regularly maintained by his sports sessions, he has never explored in depth his powers.

Thomas began to think of how he can get way of this situation which took a turn he hadn't anticipated... Obviously, Director Fury didn't intend to take down his decision of him cooperating with SHIELD. The young boy clearly didn't want to become a soldier again under the orders of a secret organization, especially after all his efforts to escape one of the worst of the History. However, if he answered no, it's unlikely that the colonel will stop at this refusal.

_What should I do_ _?_ He thought, trying to stay calm. _Director Fury doesn't force me to join the SHIELD, but he wants to keep an eye on me. Even if he says that he wants to protect me as my parents wanted, I doubt that it's really selfless, especially with all the information they have about me. But I must admit that the intelligence agency is one of the most efficient and technologically advanced of the USA. They know how to mix discretion and action. _

After several seconds of intense thought, Thomas made his decision. He looked at Nick Fury with determination.

**"Okay, I accept. But only with two conditions."**

**"What is it** **?"**

**"I want to remain free. I don't intend to leave Brooklyn or stay locked up in one of your bases. And if it turns out that my skills are useless to the Avengers, I want to be relieved of my role as an agent. If you grant me these services, I am ready to cooperate with SHIELD. Don't worry, I won't reveal your secrets to the superheroes or attempt to hack your databases. I've already told you : I don't give a care about your activities."**

**"..." **_Nick Fury seemed to considered Thomas's words. Then he finally nods._ **"Very well.** **It wasn't our intention to lock you somewhere, anyway."**

The director of SHIELD arranged the meeting of the teenager and Earth's defenders on Friday, before asking the young boy to go to the parking lot and waiting for an agent of SHIELD to take him home. Thomas got up and went to the door, but he didn't move when it opened before his eyes. Nick Fury looked at him.

**"One more thing, Director Fury." **_Thomas turned his head toward his direction, his eyes piercing like an eagle. _**"My name is Thomas Flanders, not Peter Parker. I would appreciate you calling me like that, please." **_On these last words, the mutant left the room and heard the door close behind him._

As he walked through the corridor to the elevator, Thomas gradually took a breath. He would never have thought of holding his breath for so long during an interview. He didn't expect to relive an event like this after his escape from HYDRA, let alone crossing the path of the Avengers. Even after his discussion with Fury, the young boy still had a hard time believing it. The superhero team members were like legends, whereas he was just an unknown mutant who was hiding in the shadows. Thomas hardly imagined these overpowered adults accept to have a kid on their side. But he had made a deal with Nick Fury... He will do the tasks his new superiors asked him to do until they no longer need him. He will still be on his guard and ensure his independence.

The young boy arrived at the elevator. He went inside, then the doors closed automatically and the cabin went down the glass tunnel to the underground parking lot. Once he had looked around him to be sure he was alone, Thomas isolated himself near a corner of a wall, took out his phone and dialed Mr. Owen's number. His boss answered after the second beep.

**"Thomas** **?** **Are you okay** **?"** _Asked calmly the adult, even if the mutant could guess the worry behind._

**"Yes, Mr. Owen. I have finished speaking with Director Fury." **_Whispered Thomas in a low voice so no one could hear him._

**"Really** **?"**

**"Yes ... He knows everything about me, whether my hacker identity or my powers."**

**"I knew it..." **_Mr. Owen sighed._

**"He said he wanted to protect me according to my parents's will. But I suspected he had another idea in his mind... I bluffed, and I was able to make him confess the true motive of my coming to SHIELD."**

**"Wow** **!** **What a trickmaster you are** **!"**

**"I'm not a former spy for nothing."**

**"And what happened next** **?"**

**"I agreed to cooperate with SHIELD to avoid any problems, but only with two conditions, which Director Fury agreed. He wants to keep an eye on me without stopping me from continuing to live like I did for a year. I made it clear to him that I won't interfere in his goals as long as he lets me do what I want."**

**"Hm..." **_Mr. Owen seemed to be deep in thoughts._

Suddenly, a figure appeared in Thomas's eyefield. The young boy whispered to his boss that he must hang up. The adult understood the signal and cut the call at the same time as his employee. Then Thomas put his phone in his pocket and approached the person who had just arrived in the parking lot, which happened to be Maria Hill. The assistant director politely greeted him before taking him to one of the organization's various Sedans. They got inside the car and the young woman drove him to Brooklyn. The two agents exchanged a few words during the road, and the teen noticed that Hill was less cold than at their first meeting, even if she kept some distance with him. Once in front of his building, Thomas quietly said goodbye to the assistant director of SHIELD before seeing her go away. The young boy then went back to his apartment and lies down on his bed to take a breath.

_What in the hell just happened ?_ He thought.

Thomas turned his gaze to the electric clock on his bedside table, and saw that it was one PM and a half. He hadn't seen the time pass after this intense morning. He pulled out his crystal pendant hidden under his shirt and stared at it for long minutes... He felt lucky that SHIELD wasn't aware of the existence of his necklace, which was the only memory left of his family. It was the only fragment of his past that kept him going until the fall of HYDRA. Especially since he had the strange feeling that this crystal seemed to have something "magical", something supernatural that he couldn't explain the nature... Another reason to hide it from the secret society and the Avengers, who would be a little too curious about it if they discover its existence.

The young boy clenched his fist with the pendant inside his palm, then sighed before closing his eyes.

It's going to be a long week.


	3. Encounter

"**What ?!** **You're** **going to be the** **Avengers** **apprentice** **?**"

"**Speak louder,** **Leon,** **the neighbors** **haven't heard you.**" _Thomas replied_ _sarcastically to his best friend._

The young man and his childhood friends were gathered at the apartment of Jessie for a party, which became their little tradition on Wednesday nights after work. The coffee table was placed at the back of the room to allow the sixteen teenagers moving to lounge : Leon Thomas, Phoebe, Evan and Jessie sat on the couch, while the rest of the group were lying on mattresses on the floor, wrapped in blankets. Thomas had called his friend a little earlier in the afternoon to warn her that he wanted to tell the reasons for his absence from the Orange Sunset when they will all be together at her house. Jessie saw no problem to it and reassured him that whatever it may be, they don't blame him.

The mutant thought that it wasn't a bad thing that his teammates of the orphanage are aware of his powers and his past experience as a spy. Initially, only Leon and Mr. Owen knew about his enhanced metabolism, and he didn't intend to reveal his secret to anyone else. But as soon as he reconnected with his closed ones, Thomas realized that it was better to tell them the truth about his disappearance. His friends took him surprisingly well and assured him that the way he had his powers and how he used them didn't matter to them as long as he was by their side. The young boy was grateful to one of his rare good stars for having such awesome allies.

Leon, seated at Thomas's left, approached his partner in crime and put a hand on his shoulder.

"**Admit that it's surprising...** **We just thought you had a small thing to settled** **this morning.** **But** **we were far from imagining that this would** **lead to a Mission Impossible** **scenario like !**"

"**I would have wanted to escape it, you know.**" _The mutant replied, sighing._

"**I didn't expect the blow of the USB keys though... It was a** **perfect** **motive** **for this Director Fury.**" _Jessie_ _commented._

"**I already had suspicions when Agent Hill was in my room... She was close to my desk when I saw her, clearly looking for something inside.** **I immediately told myself that it** **wasn't a coincidence that she searched inside my private room rather than another place of the apartment.**"

"**Of course.** **If you had to hide** **something important** **away** **from prying eyes,** **there is a good chance that it's in an area close to** **your reach.**" _Remarked_ _Meghan,_ _a mystery and police investigations lover._ "**And where did you hid these USB keys, by the way ?**"

"**Inside it.**"

Thomas pulled the empty pen out of the pocket of his sweatshirt and showed it to his teammates. The latter widened their eyes, not needing words to understand the technique.

"**Oh, I see** **!** **That's smart** **!**" _Phoebe retorted, sitting on the right of the mutant._ "**This is the ideal hiding place for this kind of** **objects** **!**"

"**I couldn't rule out the** **possibility that these keys could be useful at one time or another.** **I could easily get rid of them after my escape, but I had a feeling that I could used them as a joker... And it didn't fail.**" _Thomas answered, putting away the pen_.

"**It was a risky move, but you managed to use it to your advantage.**" _Evan_ _complimented,_ _cuddling_ _Jessie lying next to him, the girl's head resting against his chest._

"**If you said so.**"

"**Come on, see the good side of this job.** **You'll be able to access to all the technology of the Avengers Tower and the best** **equipment** **in their complex** **to** **freely use** **your powers.**" _Assured_ _Kenna, enthusiastic for his_ _friend._

"**And even if we can doubt some statements of Fury, we can't withdraw to his agency the merit of being trained and equipped to defend the common good.**" _Allen finished._

"**In any case, it** **was** **in** **this man's** **interest** **not to go Big Brother style with you.** **He knows that without you, his enemies would have taken him back and forced him to dismantle his organization, not to mention the fact that you could infiltrate their database like it's no big deal. The most logical choice for him is to have you on his side.**" _Lauren put a few strands of her hair behind her ear._

Thinking carefully, Thomas realized that his comrades had valid arguments. The superheroes's compound was adapted to their abilities. He will be able to train with conditioned equipment to resist his enhanced metabolism without the fear of breaking them involuntarily there. And if he wasn't mistaken, there had to be labs and stockpiles filled with technologies that could be useful for his spy arsenal. Everything was done so that the Earth Defenders could have what they needed in a secure environment. The mutant had much more to gain than he had thought after his interview with Fury.

A smile crossed Thomas's lips. His childhood friends had the gift of making him forget any unpleasant time of his days. It was probably because they have lived together in a same place for a long time and that they are all precocious children that they understand each other so quickly. Anyway, these little moments made him a little lighter. Nevertheless, a problem still remained to be solved...

"**The question now is how do to my job at the Orange Sunset... Even if I keep a balance between my missions and my** **work** **time, it will quickly become complicated to make the trip between Manhattan and Brooklyn.** **Especially if an alert goes off without warning.**"

Everyone immersed themselves in a deep reflection... It's true that they hadn't thought about that yet. Mr. Owen would probably have no problem adjusting his work schedules, but that didn't solve the constraint of the Brooklyn-Manhattan trip. And what about the apartment he had just rented for a year ? Well, it didn't disturb the young boy that much since he didn't have any particular affinity with the latter. Phoebe guessed immediately the way of thinking of his friend, and squeezed his arm in a comforting sign.

"**You're** **worried about us, right** **?**"

The fifteen teenagers stared at the red-haired girl. Thomas averted his eyes of Phoebe after a few seconds. Of course she would know what was bothering him without even needing words... She knew him very well since they were little. The young boy took long minutes to catch his breath, then he looked back at his friend and nodded. Leon, once he came to his senses, smiled and wrapped his arm around the shoulders of the boy he considered as a little brother.

"**Hey.** **It'll be fine.** **We** **always have our phones, right** **?** **It's not like we can't contact each other.** **And theoretically, we live in the same city, so we are not separated by several kilometers.**"

"**It's still a way to go.**" _Retorted Thomas._

"**You understand me, you little rascal.**" _Leon made him swing slightly from left to right, under the amused gaze of their comrades._ "**But just to tell you that it doesn't matter if you're not in the same borough as us.** **You know where we are, and we know where you are.** **It's all good for us.**"

"**That's right.** **And nothing prevents us from coming to see you** **there** **!** **Well, not at the compound** **of course, but some****where** **in** **Manhattan** **for an outing.**" _Noah_ _stretched himself while smiling._

"**And if this Nick Fury is mean to you, count on us to bring him down to earth.**" _Sebastian said with a smirk._

Thomas's eyes widened. He felt stupid not to have thought right away that he had the means to communicate with them from a distance. He did it with SHIELD in the past, why wouldn't it work a second time ? In addition, his comrades of the orphanage knew how to defend themselves, not to mention Mr. Owen who was a former agent and was regularly praised for his fighting skills. And even though his friends were a bit sad not to see him every day as they had been used to for a year, they managed to find alternatives both for him and for them. The mutant chuckled softly.

"**Heh.** **Thanks for being with me, guys.**"

"**Don't worry, Tom.** **We will always be there to help you.** **We all partners** **in** **crime after all.**" _Jonathan gave him a wink and a thumbs up._

"**Hehe.** **I knew you had the soul of a superhero** **!**" _Leon waved a big smile, as did the rest of the group._

"**Why am I friends with you, again** **?**" _Thomas said exasperatedly_ _after heaving a long sigh._

The fifteen teenagers laughed, then Leon and Phoebe gave him a hug. The discussion became lighter, filled with jokes and internet references. They finished the evening watching Star Wars : A New Hope. No matter how many times they saw this movie, the magic was still working. When the end credits end up scrolling on the screen, many of them began to yawn. They decided that it was time to go to bed. Everyone had a mattress, a pillow and a blanket for themselves. Jessie didn't bother going to her room and preferred to stay with her friends while sleeping on the couch. She turned off the light with a remote control, and the sixteen teenagers peacefully fell asleep.

* * *

The week passed very slowly and very quickly at the same time.

The day after the party with his friends, Thomas spent the morning chatting privately with Mr. Owen. He told him in detail what had happened during his interview with Nick Fury and the possibilities he had to carry out his role as an agent without arousing suspicion about him or his closed ones. The adult listened attentively and pledged to help him as his guardian and former member of the secret society. They thought together about different scenarios "likely to happen" and inscribed them inside a book, also noting emergency procedures in case of danger. Once these measures were taken, Mr. Owen assured him that he would find him at an apartment in Manhattan as soon as possible. Thomas didn't worry much about it : the man had numerous contacts and a good reputation in the city. It is unlikely that people would say no to him. But if the search of a new home are unsuccessful, the young boy would take him and stay at the Avengers Tower. The teenager went back to work for the rest of the day, as if nothing had happened.

And then arrived Friday.

The sun had just risen in the metropolis. The sky took purple and bluish hues as the day came. The breeze blew silently between the branches of the trees, flying a few leaves in its path. Calm and silence reigned between the buildings. The only noise that disturbed the tranquility of the streets was Thomas's footsteps, following the neighborhoods of Brooklyn until reaching Queens. He arrived at a cemetery, a few streets farther from the site of his old house. About a hundred tombs stretched along the land, mostly small steles with the name of the deceased marked on it. Few photos were present, unlike many bouquets of flowers that gave a slight color tint to this place frozen in time. Thomas walked along the path, feeling the wind caress his skin and move his gray scarf, then stopped in front of two tombs... One of them was inscribed with the name "Richard and Mary Parker", the other with "Benjamin and May Parker".

Since the day his fate was turned upside down by this incident that cost the life of his family, the mutant didn't return to the district where he was born. He hadn't even been able to attend the funeral of his blood relatives because of his young age and his hospitalization. On the other hand, even if he had been offered to participate, he would have refused. His mourning would've been more painful if that had been the case. Nine years had passed, and yet Thomas remembered all the moments he had spent in Queens as if it were yesterday. He saw himself again as a child, barely six years old, running happily with his father and mother to the park near their home, smiling and laughing together. It was a time full of innocence and happiness... But these days were now over.

_Mom,_ _dad,_ _May,_ _Ben..._ _I didn't expect to see you again so early._ He thought. _It's_ _been nine_ _years_ _now..._ _Nine_ _years since you've been killed._ _Killed for totally obsolete reasons_ _and in the worst possible way._

His empty eyes fixed for a moment the stele of his uncle and aunt, then his gaze fell on the one of his parents... The orphan felt his throat burn, but he remained stoic. Thomas knelt in front of the tombs, discreetly took out his pendant, wrapped the crystal in his hands and set himself in a prayer position, giving himself for a brief moment the right to remember his blood relatives. Several minutes passed in total silence, the wind continuing to blow through the cemetery. Once his tribute was complete, the teen hid his collar under his shirt again and get up. The last words of his father came back to him : "Protect my son, and make him live in the light"...

_Dad... Even though you knew that your and mom's life was hanging by a thread, the only thing you cared about was to allow me to stay alive._ _I'm still here, it's true... But unfortunately, I can_'_t live in the light._

Thomas suddenly felt a presence... At once close and far from him... He turned his gaze to the left, and saw the frail shape of a little boy with brown hair, knees on the ground, his face drowned in tears. The mutant quickly realized that it was "Peter Parker," the child he once was, a fragment of his soul that no matter how much he tried to choke came back from time to time in his mind. The young boy didn't pay attention to the cry of the kid... The past was what he was, and he couldn't do anything about it. The world wasn't kind enough to allow him to show his weaknesses. If he lowered his guard even for a second, the fragile balance of his life would collapse and he would sink again into the darkness of the ocean. It was contrary to his father's wish, he knew it... But staying in the shadows was the only option for him to survive. Finding a new family was an impossible dream for an orphan like him, and he had abandoned the idea of looking for one for a long time. Reality had made him understand that his desires would never be rewarded.

Thomas sighed and looked up at the cloud-covered sky. His face was impassive. The tears at his side went silent.

_It's time to go._

After a moment of flutter, the mutant turned around and left the cemetery, still accompanied by the wind. Once outside, a voice took him out of his thoughts.

"**It'll be okay for you** **?**"

Thomas looked up and recognized Nick Fury's face.

"**It have to be.**" _Thomas_ _paused._ "**You came with a car** **?**"

"**Of course.**"

The director of SHIELD and the young boy headed for a Black Sedan that looked different from the ones he had borrowed with Agent Hill and Agent Coulson. After a failed assassination attempt, Nick Fury made the decision to move with vehicles specifically designed to be bulletproof and capable of withstanding any outside attack, as well as adding the latest technologies to optimize their strength. The two men then left Queens to go to Manhattan in complete silence.

* * *

The Avengers were gathered in the main hall of the Tower. Steve and Rhodey were chatting together, Natasha was cleaning a dagger, Clint, Scott Lang and Sam were lying on the couch, Thor was drinking a beer on an armchair next to his comrades and Bruce was reading a book near one of the big tables in the room. Tony came out of the kitchen after making a cup of coffee and sat next to the scientist nonchalantly. The billionaire had received a message from SHIELD asking the team to meet at the request of Director Fury. His other teammates received the same request without more precision. None of them knew the reason for their meeting. Tony glanced around and noticed that there were only half of the Avengers in the room.

"**Where are the others** **?**" _Asked the philanthropic genius, attracting the attention of his comrades._

"**They finished their mission in Canada.** **They are on their way back in Quinjet and should be back in an hour.**" _Steve_ _told him._

"**Ah, I see.**"

"**You think Nick Fury will give us a new mission** **?** **And that's why he brought us here** **?**" _Scott wondered._

"**That wouldn't surprise me on his part.** **He loves to speak in riddles.**" _Tony finishes drinking his drink._

"**I think he would have been more explicit than that if he wanted to send us somewhere in the world.**" _Rhodey remarked._

"**I tried to get more information from Hill, but** **I didn't have anything consistent.**" _Said Natasha putting the dagger in her holster._ "**However,** **I heard** **that Nick had an appointment with someone on Wednesday morning.**"

"**I heard that too.**" _Completed Clint._

"**Maybe Fury has brought us here to introduce us to this famous person.**" _Bruce wondered._

"**That must be it****".** _Replied Sam._

"**I think the one he would present to us is a good person.**" _Thor retorted, smiling._

Before Falcon could replicate, the door opened and Nick Fury's silhouette came out. The Avengers immediately turned to look at the director of SHIELD.

"**Well, we were just talking about you.**" _Tony stood up and approached the man in the black coat._ "**What made you come out of your hole** **?**"

"**It must be me who should tell you that, Stark.**" _Fury looked at him with an unamused look, knowing well that the engineer was spending a lot of time locked in his lab and needed a reason important enough to get him out._

"**Why did you brought us, Director Fury** **?**" _Natasha asked seriously._

There was a pause, and Nick Fury spoke again.

"**You probably remember our fights against HYDRA five years ago, right ?**"

"**How to** **forget that...**" _Scott answered._ "**They were real monsters.**"

"**It** **was a long war, mostly because of their ability to hide their presence** **with** **the help of alien technology.**"

"**... Could it be that** **there are** **HYDRA bases still operational** **?**" _Replied_ _Steve, suddenly tense._ _HYDRA reminded him of very bad memories, and he didn't want to let them rebuild themselves in the shadows._

"**No. The SHIELD spent an entire year investigating about 40 bases that exploded simultaneously around the world during the night of August 15, 2016. None of them survived the blasts, not much the agents that were dug up from the debris... for what was left, anyway. The scientific department therefore looked at the bodies to discover their identity and list the total number of HYDRA members.**"

"**Is there something wrong with that ?**" _Rhodey asked._

"**The majority of them could be identified... Until we realized that something was wrong during the referencing agents. And after a long investigation, we had the confirmation... The spy "Cain" was still alive.**"

The Avengers were surprised by the news. They learned the existence of this mysterious spy through coded messages they received from him, each time revealing secret data and project plans of the criminal organization. The team of superheroes originally thought it was a trap and that the informations he sent them were false, but as the war they were waging against HYDRA advanced, it became clear that "Cain" was an ally and not an enemy. They were made aware of the last message the spy sent to SHIELD before disappearing on that summer night when the criminal organization was definitely annihilated.

"**Wait... You mean that he faked his death ?**" Bruce replied.

"**Indeed, Dr. Banner. His last encrypted message was actually a diversion to distract the SHIELD and hiding his presence after destroying the last standing HYDRA bases. Agent Coulson took care of finding him during the year that has passed... And he succeeded.**"

It was at that moment that Natasha realized that the person with whom Nick Fury had made an appointment was Cain. The Avengers held their breath.

"**Come in.**" _Asked the director of SHIELD while turning to the door._

The door opened. Footsteps echoed through the room, then a youthful figure with a neutral face and gray outfits appeared in front of the Earth's Mightiest heroes. The adults exchanged at first a confused look, until they associate the revelations of Nick Fury to the newcomer. The Avengers's eyes widened like those of a big fish.

* * *

_The encounter between our dear Peter and the Avengers finally arrived... How the heroes would react towards the spiderling ?_


	4. Black cat

_Hello/Good night.  
_

_Sorry for the silence radio, but I wasn't being very well lately because of some violent anxiety attacks and my summer insomnia. But I'm better now.  
_

_Here is the next chapter of Lost Emotion and the meeting between the Avengers and Peter !  
_

_(And even though I don't think it's necessary to recall it, I do it anyway just in case : Thomas Flanders is Peter Parker/Spider-Man)_

* * *

If one day Thomas would have been told that he would see the Avengers, Earth's mightiest heroes, with a shocked expression on their face and that he would be responsible for it, he would have rolled his eyes and ignored the comment.

And yet, that was exactly what was happening to him at that moment. He didn't really know what to think about it.

However, besides the superhero group staring at him, the young agent paid more attention to the two men near Hawkeye. He easily recognized the faces of the six iconic members of the team and Colonel Rhodes, friend of Tony Stark who was photographed several times by his side. However, he didn't feel like he knew who these people were.

The strange atmosphere that seemed to surround the room faded when Scott spoke :

**"****If it's a joke, it's not very funny.****"**

**"****He's a kid, Director Fury** **!** **Are you kidding us ?****"** _Exclaimed Steve, allowing the other adults to regain their spirits._

_Obviously..._ _These reactions were to be expected._ Thomas thought with a sigh. It didn't take long for him to understand that the Avengers needed a small "demonstration" of his powers to confirm the director of SHIELD's revelations. The mutant pull out his optimised wristbands and shoot a web to the ceiling. He took a few steps back, ran and flew into the air, making the group of heroes step back, before clinging to the shining wall. Then he moved like a spider on a few meters, then dropped gracefully to the ground without any injury. Thomas turned around and looked at the adults, putting his hands back in the pockets of his coat. Once again, the surprise was on their face, although this time it was more controlled. It was at that moment that Fury spoke again.

**"****This boy may be young, but he** **is smart and able to** **protect himself.** **It's thanks to his hacking abilities that we could counteract** **several projects of HYDRA and** **destroyed** **their bases.** **Think of him as an** **ally of the organization.****"**

**"****He works for SHIELD** **?****"** _Clint asked._

**"Cooperate** **is a more appropriate term.****"**

"**It's the same thing.** **Since when** **SHIELD is recruiting** **children** **?****"** _Tony replied._

**"****With all my respect Mr. Stark, I find it ironic of you to say that when you hacked into the Pentagon computer system** **at** **my age.****"** _Said Thomas_ _for the first time since he entered the_ _room._

All eyes turned to the young boy. The billionaire looked at him stunned, not only because he heard the teenager's voice but also because he knew something that only Rhodey was aware of. And if this newcomer was able to answer Iron Man's distrust without any hesitation in revealing this kind of information and not another one, it was certainly not by chance...

**"****Anyway, this kid was placed under the protection of SHIELD.** **Even if** **HYDRA has** **been** **defeated,** **it's not impossible** **that** **criminals with anti-mutant weapons** **continue to roam in** **the shadows.** **And before you asked** **me** **the question** :** No, he doesn't join the** **Initative** **Project. His role will be limited to a sidelines support during your missions.** **He** **will simply need to be trained for a better control of his powers.****"**

A call suddenly sounds in Nick Fury's ears. The man pressed his headset and heard Agent Hill's voice calling him that he had to go to Washington for a meeting at Triskel. The director of the secret society left the room, announcing to the group of heroes that he was leaving them the responsibility of the young agent before closing the door behind him. There was only the Avengers and Thomas left. All that remained was the Avengers and Thomas in the room. The team members stared at each other with a confused look, then they looked at the teenager again. The latter remained calm and impassive, although his mind is racing at the idea that _god damnit, he has never been so close to the Earth's defenders in terms of distance_.

There was a silence during which neither the adults nor the young boy knew what to say. It was finally Bruce who broke the ice.

**"****Well... We learned a lot of things in a short time, but I don't think we heard your name.** **What's your name** **?****"**

**"**... **Thomas Flanders.****"**

**"****Nice to meet you, Thomas.** **I am Bruce Banner, doctor and** **physicist.****"** _The adult approached the_ _young boy and shook his hand._

**"****I know.** **I read** **all** **your books.** **It's fascinating, especially your** **research** **on gamma rays.****"**

Bruce was surprised. People were much more aware of his transformation into a Hulk than his scientific side. This surprised him even more than anyone so young could have been interested in his work and understood them without problems. The doctor thanked him with a smile, which Thomas nodded for an answer. The other Avengers came in turn one by one, in a more relaxed atmosphere. The Spiderling was able to put names on the two faces that were unknown to him: Sam Wilson and Scott Lang, respectively Falcon and Ant-Man. However, although the superheroes are polite towards him, Thomas quickly noticed that Tony, Steve and Natasha kept a certain mistrust towards him. Clint was also somewhat reserved, but he was more open than his comrades.

The mutant was expecting it... He suspected that the Avengers wouldn't immediately trust someone they barely knew, especially since said someone was a former spy who was trained for hacking and handling weapons. Even though he helped them to defeat their worst enemy, his actions were no less risky and questionable. He knew it himself. Anyway, Thomas didn't intend to change anything... He was just an agent whose only service was to follow the orders of his new superiors. If they think they don't need him, he will just leave and become a black cat again. It was as simple as that.

A voice suddenly sounded in the room, bringing the young boy out of his thoughts.

**"****Avengers, I inform you that the Quinjet has arrived in New York and should land on** **the runway** **of the Tower in 5 minutes and 24 seconds.****"**

Thomas instinctively looked up at the ceiling like the residents of the complex around him, but he didn't know where the strange voice came from. Tony noticed the confusion on the kid's face.

**"****It's FRIDAY,** **an** **artificial intelligence of** **my creation.** **She's my** **virtual** **assistant** **who watches over the control of the Tower and the well being of the team.** **If you have questions to ask or if you need help, she will answer you.****"**

**"****An artificial intelligence** **?** **Cool.****"** _Thomas answered with a tone that the_ _billionaire_ _associated with_ _astonishment._ _A smirk appeared on his lips as he saw the slightly enlarged eyes of the kid._

**"****Do we join them or wait for them to come here** **?****"** _Bruce_ _asked._

**"****We'd better go see them right away.** **We will introduce them to Thomas at the same time.****"** _Rhodey replied._

The small group went to the top of the complex. As they walked, the teenager went back to his thoughts and was intrigued by the fact that there were more Avengers than he had thought. It must be said that he wasn't really interested in the news conveyed by the media and people magazines, too pessimistic and sensationalist to his liking. Of course, he was aware of what was going on in the world through the various discussions he heard at the Orange Sunset, but he never really paid attention to it and quickly forgot about it. However, Thomas wondered who could be these recruits who had the privilege to fight alongside the Earth's defenders... He walked a little closer to Scott, who seemed to him the most accessible to chat, and whispered in a low voice :

**"****Mr. Lang, how much are you in the team** **?****"**

**"****Thirteen,** **counting** **me, Sam and Colonel Rhodes.****"**

**"****Thirteen** **?!****"** _Thomas refrained from screaming._

**"****Yup !** **Initially, I and Sam were casual members, and then four more people joined the ranks.** **It will now be three years since we joined the Avengers as official members.****"** _Scott smiled thinking about the first time Steve Rogers had come to see_ _him and offered to work with_ _the Earth's mightiest heroes._ _He didn't expect this opportunity at all, but he didn't regret his choice._

**"****And with you, it's going to be fourteen.****"** _Added Clint, who took advantage of this diversion to_ _pat the_ _young boy's back._

Thomas didn't know how to react to the archer's gesture. He was more used to this kind of complicity with his childhood friends or Mr. Owen. He remained silent for the rest of the way.

Once on the roof of the Tower, the Quinjet appeared in the Avengers field of vision. The flying vehicle landed on the runway at the end of the huge building, and the back door opened slowly. Thomas stepped forward a little ahead of the team to see the newcomers. His body then stiffened instantly, and his eyes widened... A man with white hair and a gray and blue outfit went down the slope, accompanied by a young woman with long brown hair wearing a long red jacket, a red blouse, black pants and boots. A second man followed them, physically resembling Steve, with medium-length brown hair, a blue shirt, green pants, black boots, and a metallic left arm. A third person ended up showing himself, whose most striking element was his blood-red skin, as well as the yellow jewel that adorned his forehead.

The Spiderling couldn't say a single word. Five-year old memories resurfaced in his mind : his training sessions at HYDRA, the chaos in Sokovia, the release of two prisoners transformed into mutants like him... He never thought he would see those who were formerly victims of the red skull criminal organization again. And yet, fate has decided otherwise.

Steve approached the newcomers and put the man with the metal arm into a hug. The latter repeated the gesture with a smile.

**"****Good to see you again, Bucky.****"**

**"****It feels good to go home.****"**

**"****How was the mission ?****"** _Natasha asked._

**"****All good** **!** **We have been** **able to identify** **the optimized weapons traffickers and dismantle their network.** **They didn't see anything coming** **!****"** _Answered the white-haired man with a big smile._

**"****We checked their bases before leaving.** **They are now all out of service, and the weapons have all been destroyed.****"** _Added the man with the red skin._

**"****Perfect.** **You did well.** **Good job.****"** _Captain America congratulated the victory of his comrades._

The look of the young woman in red crossed those of a youthful face in the middle of the superhero group. At first glance, he didn't have more than sixteen years, but his appearance was rather robust for his age.

**"****Who is he** **?****"** _She_ _asked_ _curiously, keeping her gaze on_ _Thomas._

The agent suddenly woke up from his transe. The feeling of anxiety he was beginning to feel in the pit of his stomach faded as fast as the flame of a candle. That's right... He had been careful to erase the memory of Bucky and the twins after releasing them from the control that HYDRA exerted over them with his syringes filled of amnemonic. The young man didn't want to see them sink into violence and despair after the horrors they suffered because of the criminal organization. In the process, they ended up forgetting him too. However, Thomas could see at first glance all three seemed more happy than five years ago. He didn't need to be a genius to understand that. The fact that they don't remember him didn't hurt him... He hardly had a real discussion with Bucky when he was the Winter Soldier and almost never crossed the road of the two sokovians. They were strangers, one for the other.

After a silence that seemed like an eternity, Thomas took the first step and walked towards her.

**"****My** **name is** **Thomas Flanders, a mutant with spider powers.** **SHIELD** **has** **charged** **me** **with helping you in your missions as a** **support member.****"**

The young woman was initially surprised by this answer, but she could read briefly in the mind of the teenager and quickly realized that the latter was actually telling the truth. She then began to smile and shook hands with the Spiderling.

**"****Nice to meet you, Thomas.** **My name is Wanda Maximoff,** **better** **known as Scarlet Witch.****"**

**"****I'm Pietro Maximoff, Wanda's twin older brother.****"** _The_ _white-haired man shook_ _his hand as Thomas._ **"****But you can call me** **Quicksilver too.****"**

Pietro ran at full speed around the Avengers in less than a second, leaving behind him a form of blue energy, before returning in front of the young agent with a big smile on his lips.

**"****You didn't see that coming, huh** **?****"**

**"****Honestly, a little bit.****"** _Thomas replied indifferently._ _He knew very well what Pietro was able to do after seeing him running from one end to the other of his little cell in Sokovia in less than a second_ _._

**"****What** **?!****"**

A few chuckles were heard behind him. The young spy even believed he heard Thor whispering "this kid has a sharp tongue", but he wasn't sure. It was the turn of the man with a jewel to introduce himself : His name is Vision, and the Spiderling couldn't help but widen his eyes when he heard he was an android created by Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner. He would have sworn he was a real human because of his so natural voice and facial expressions. Nevertheless, the teen didn't bring attention to this detail and considered him as a full member of the team. Then come finally the moment when Thomas and Bucky met face to face... The super soldier watched the young agent with a curious eye, having the vague sensation of having met a boy who looked like him in the past. For some unknown reason, the teenager's blank stare was no stranger to him, but he didn't know if it was a real memory or an illusion implanted in his brain by HYDRA. Bucky decided to forget this strange impression and politely shook Thomas's hand.

**"****I'm Bucky Barnes, known as White Wolf.** **Nice to meet you, Thomas.****"**

**"****Nice to meet you.****"**

After these brief presentations, it was decided that the Avengers wrote a mission report to SHIELD. Tony suggested to Thomas to drive him to a room he could occupy in the tower while they settled the case, which the latter accepted with a nod. The two men crossed the long hallways of the complex, and the agent took advantage of this to memorize the various places the billionaire presented to him, especially the training rooms and laboratories. They finally arrived on a private floor where the superheroes resided. It had a large common living room and a staircase leading to the Avengers's rooms. Each had its own space consisting of a bed, desk, closet and a bathroom. Tony led the young boy to a room of the same model, the only one that didn't have a logo on the door. It looked like the room Thomas had in his small apartment in Brooklyn, clean and uncluttered, though more spacious.

**"****Here we** **are****, kid.** **Sorry if the room is a bit empty, but we didn't expect to have a newcomer** **today.****"** _Tony rubbed the back of his neck._

**"****It doesn't matter.** **I don't need much.****"**_Thomas answered, sitting on the bed._

**"****Hm...****"** _The genius leaned against the door's __entryway__._ **"****Anyway, you're where all the Avengers live together.** **If you want to talk to one of us, we're just next to you.** **My room is between** **Natasha's and Clint's, but I usually had my own floor.****"**

**"****To not be disturbed when you are at** **your lab** **?****"**

**"****Among other** **things, yes.****"**

There was a moment of silence.

**"****By the way,** **since we're alone, I wanted to ask you... How did you know I had hacked the Pentagon** **?** **I only told this story to Rhodey when we were at MIT.****"**

Thomas let a few seconds pass before answering. The billionaire didn't seem to blame him for revealing this story in front of his comrades - probably because they would have suspected that Tony Stark could achieve such a thing, but he was still careful.

**"****HYDRA had a database specifically designed to list all the informations about the people they considered dangerous for them.** **They had everything about you and your past.** **It's by hacking their computer core that I could discover that.****"**

**"T****ch... What a bunch of assholes.****"** _Tony growled._

**"****You don't say.****"**

Again, silence fell in the room. Tony watched from the corner of his eye the boy sitting on the bed : straight, motionless, hands clasped on his knees, his head slightly down, his brown and curly hair hiding his fleeting glance. The genius initially thought that the teenager was introverted, but as he looked at him, he realized that Natasha behaved this way as well. Being a professional spy and a deadly assassin, it was natural that she doesn't show any emotion and remained silent most of the time. Seeing this type of manners in such a young kid while knowing the story of the Maximoff twins before joining the team made him slowly realized that he and Cain were indeed the same person, as unlikely as this idea could be.

Tony was about to talk again, but FRIDAY interrupted him.

**"****Sir, the Avengers are in the meeting room and are about to begin the debriefing of the mission.** **Your presence is requested.****"**

**"****I'm coming.****"** _Tony said looking at the ceiling_ _and then Thomas._ **"****I have to go,** **kid.** **It's** **okay for you to stay here** **?****"**

**"****Yes, Mr. Stark.****"**

**"****Okay.****"**

Tony hesitated for a moment to leave the mutant, then he left by closing the door behind him. Thomas was now alone in the big room. The young boy sighed, pulled off his shoes and lay down on the bed. He could easily hack the computer on the desk to listen the Avengers meeting or quietly visit the heroes's rooms, but he had neither the strength nor the desire to do so. The teenager then stared at the ceiling out of habit, as he did whenever no one was looking at him. No sound was heard around him : no drops of water falling in the shower, no steps in the hallways, no squeaking of the bed. Nothing. The whole room was completely silent. The Spiderling had nothing against it : it was good to find himself in a quiet environment after a too noisy day at the Orange Sunset. But staying too long without sounds reminded him of the gray cell in which he was locked up in Ichor, with no chance of escaping... And that made him anxious. Thomas took his MP3 from his coat pocket and put on his headphones.

**"****FRIDAY,** **you can** **lower the light, please** **?****"**

**"****Yes, Mr. Flanders.****"** _The AI said, and the brightness of the room faded slightly._

**"****Thanks.****"**

**"****Do you want me to let you know if someone is coming to the room** **?****"**

**"****If possible, yes.****" **_The young boy had super-hearing, so he could easily hear what was happening around him, even with his headphones on._

**"****Understood.****"** _FRIDAY's voice_ _was calm and reassuring._

Thomas chose a relaxing track, and then let himself be lulled by the music. The bewitching and mysterious melody haunted him. He gradually closed his eyes and before he could realize it, he finally fell asleep.

* * *

His body was motionless.

His breath was the only sound that reached his ears.

No dream came into his mind. All he saw was a white world, without form or distance. He had the vague sensation of sitting on a "ground", but nothing more. If it could surprise any teenager of his age, it wasn't the case for Thomas... This kind of "vision" was common when he slept. He had stopped to escape into illusions since HYDRA kidnapped him. He didn't even remember when was the last time he had a concrete dream. After spending several years of his life sacrificing his sleep to survive to the point of becoming insomniac, the days he spent a peaceful night could be counted on the fingers of one hand. The young boy didn't really know if he liked or hated this time of day : on one side his childhood was reduced to ashes during a summer night, but on the other side he regain freedom during this same summer night. Anyway, Thomas enjoyed those moments when he could rest and think for himself, even if it was only for two or three hours.

The mutant slowly opened his eyes. It took a while to get used to the light of the room, but he recognized the metallic color of the ceiling. When his senses were more awake, he noticed that his MP3 had gone out and the music stopped. Thomas gave a small sigh, then put the small object in his coat pocket. Now that he thought about it, he had completely forgotten to take it off before falling asleep. At least it will have kept him warm. The young boy got up slowly and stretched.

**"****Hi, FRI.****"** _Thomas said in a sleepy voice._

**"****Hello again, Mr. Flanders.****"** _Answered_ _the artificial intelligence almost immediately._

**"****How long** **have I slept** **?****"**

**"****You slept for two hours and thirty minutes, and that rest seemed beneficial to you.****"**

**"****That's true.****"** _The boy said_ _as he finished_ _stretching._

**"****Mr.** **Stark and the Avengers continue** **their meeting** **and should have finished in a little less than thirty minutes.****"**

**"****Got it.** **Thank you, FRIDAY**.**"**

**"****At your service, Mr. Flanders.****"**

Thomas readjusted himself on the bed to rest his back on the wall, then he pulled out his phone and started writing on his notebook to kill time. Since his friends were currently working, sending them a message was not possible. So he put words on what was going through his mind, whether it was volatile thoughts or ideas for improvements to his spy uniform and optimized wristbands.

Several long minutes passed in silence, until he heard the door knocked three times.

**"****Thomas** **?** **Are you here** **?****"** _Asked a male voice on the other side of the rectangular frame._

**"****No, on Tatooine.****"**

The door opened, and Tony appeared in the room. The two men looked at each other for a moment, then the billionaire sat on the bed.

**"****Sorry to left you alone like this.** **Aren't you bored** **?****"**

**"****No, it's fine.****"**

**"****Mr. Flanders slept during your absence, sir.****"** _Replied FRIDAY_.

**"****Really** **?****"** _Tony raised an eyebrow, which did not escape Thomas._

**"****What** **?** **You thought that I spied you during your briefing** **?** **It's not my style to do that.** **And if I'd tried anything,** **FRIDAY would have warned you immediately and there is a good chance that** **you** **have** **kicked my butt out of here.** **For a first meeting, it wouldn't be cool.****"**

**"****... You seems to be a special boy.****"** _Tony admits with a detached way, although you can hear a hint of amusement in his voice._

The young boy observed the genius without answering.

The genius indicated to Thomas that they were all gathered in the living room and that he could come and join them if he wanted to. The agent nodded in agreement, following Tony to the big room. When they arrived in the Avengers field of vision, the latter looked up at the newcomers, making the younger boy's head drop. The billionaire sat on the couch next to Rhodey and Bruce, while Thomas took the only remaining chair near Steve, Pietro and Wanda.

The teenager did his best to focus on his breathing, but the intense gaze of the Earth's greatest heroes resting on him gave him cold sweat, even more than in his interview with Nick Fury. It was even more impressive than watching them fight on TV. However, Thomas quickly calm down... He was used to be stared by adults. The leaders of HYDRA had behaved in the same way towards him when they began to lose control of their operations. Even if he had saved the life of Bucky and the Maximoff twins, that didn't change the fact that his actions were illegal and risky. Moreover, his status as a former spy and hacker made him more suspicious than anything else. Seeing in Nick Fury's game was easy, but Thomas knew he couldn't fool Black Widow and White Wolf. Scarlet Witch was also a potential threat because of her telepathic powers that would allow her to read in his mind. Lying was useless against those three. Then the mutant decided to do as he always did : he will answer honestly the questions the Avengers will ask him without revealing who he really is. He was just an anonymous agent who was asked to do his job, and nothing more.

**"****So,** **Thomas Flanders...****"** _Tony said to the young boy._ **"****There are a** **lot of questions we want to ask you.****"**

**"I**** guess.****"** _Answered the concerned person in a_ _neutral_ _way._

**"****Where did you come from** **?****"** _Steve asked._

**"****Brooklyn.****"**

**"****Oh** **?****"** _A smile appeared on the Captain's face._

**"****Another little guy from Brooklyn, huh** **?****"** _Bucky remarked, a grin on his lips as he remembered the days when Steve was still a small boy before he became a super soldier._

**"****Actually, I was born in Queens, but I** **grew up** **in Brooklyn.****"**

**"****And how old are you ****?"** _asked_ _Scott._

**"****Sixteen years old.****"**

**"****Sixteen** **?** **You seem to have thirteen** **!****"** _Sam exclaimed._

Thomas raised an eyebrow and looked at Sam exasperatedly. God he hated that kind of remark. Falcon noticed his exasperation and laughed softly.

**"****It's okay, I'm joking.****"**

Several questions ensued, and Thomas answered the majority of them with short sentences. The Avengers learned about his workplace, his fifteen colleagues and his boss Cameron Owen - without going into more details than the evocation of their names. It was then that the mutant noticed that Natasha was the only one who hadn't spoken during this interrogation. He suspected that she listened attentively to his words, but her silence frightened him much more than being confronted by the inhuman gaze of a HYDRA leader.

And then…

**"****Why did you make contact with SHIELD, and** **what made you help us to defeat HYDRA** **?****"**

_"__Straight to the point.__"_ Thomas thought, expecting that question to fall. He sighed, then sank wearily in the chair.

**"****I learned very early to hack.** **Since I was an orphan and had nothing to lose, I spent my days infiltrating hundreds of databases around the world.** **It's by a miscalculated hacking that I discovered the existence of HYDRA, then by extension of their enemy** **: the SHIELD.** **It wasn't difficult to learn about the nature of both organizations by searching into their computer core.** **I was disgusted to see what HYDRA was able to do to achieve their goals,** **going so far as to change people into guinea pigs and** **sacrifice lives... So I wanted to** **eliminate them to make them pay for their crimes.** **But I knew that I couldn't** **do** **anything** **against** **them** **all alone... And** **since I and SHIELD had a common goal, I decided to play the role** **of a parasite** **to allow you and Director Fury to** **defeat the****m****.** **You know what happened next.****"**

Even though the reality was somewhat distorted, every word that came out of Thomas's mouth was true. Revenge was the only thing that allowed him to endure these four long years of horror and constant stress under the claws of HYDRA. He had manipulated the two secret organizations for that one reason alone, it was a fact. He wasn't looking for excuses for that.

**"****But how did you managed to not get caught** **all this time** **?****"** _Vision_ _asked, shocked to see that such a young boy have survived so long from one of the worst criminal organizations in the world._

**"****No one would try to eliminate someone who doesn't exist.****"** _Was the only answer of the Spiderling._

A silence fell. The superheroes looked at each other, not really knowing what to think about all the informations they learned in one day or how to restart the conversation, which the mutant noticed very quickly.

**"****If I accepted** **to be an agent of SHIELD, it**'**s** **because** **I owe a debt to Director Fury.****"** _Thomas voluntarily omitted_ _the fact that the colonel was also indebted to him._ **"****But I'm not stupid...** **I know** **he wants to keep me under close control.** **I accepted his offer only to avoid problems. Well, I made it clear to him that I won't be a blindly loyal soldier. I won't do anything against SHIELD, but in exchange he let me free.****"**

**"****Heh... Looks like we have a Mini-Stark with us.****"**_Rhodey smiled while looking at his best friend._

**"****I don't know what you're talking about, McBear.****"**_Tony said with a fake offended voice._

The Avengers laughed at the billionaire's sentence. However, Thomas remained stoic, although his look suggests his perplexity. While he was indeed a genius and knew how to create complex inventions from unknown or advanced metals, he was far from a Mini-Stark. He didn't consider himself as such. After that, the team of superheroes and the Spiderling discussed about his accommodation situation, and it appeared simpler that the agent remained living in the Tower - which absolutely didn't surprise the teenager with the views of his umpteenth sigh and his indifferent look.

Time passed, and the night finally appeared. The residents of the complex decided to prepare dinner together. Steve, Bucky, Sam and Vision took care of the meals, while the rest of the team set up the living room to put everyone on the table. Once the adjustments were completed, Clint and Scott invited the teen to play a game on Mario Kart by the time the dinner arrived. Thomas wondered for a moment if these two were really superheroes or big kids, but he accepted anyway. It made him internally laugh to see Ant-Man's surprised and decomposed face when he lost. It was after the fourth victory of the kid that Captain America announced that dinner was served. The Avengers sat each to a chair : Natasha, Bruce, Clint, Scott, Wanda and Pietro were on the left side of the table, Tony, Rhodey, Sam, Vision and Bucky on the right side, and then Steve and Thor were at the ends of the table. Thomas sat in the only free seat near White Wolf and the Asgardian god. The adults began several discussions during the meal, mainly around the government and their missions. The teenager had simply been eating in silence, enjoying his spaghetti bolognese with a deaf ear.

Once dinner was over, it was almost 10 pm. The Avengers went back to their own room, and Thomas returned to the room he had occupied earlier in the day. The young boy sighed and finally took off his things that were starting to keep him too warm. He went to the bathroom, where he discovered with surprise that pajamas were disposed there.

**"****Mr. Stark has charged me to deliver you a nightwear for tonight.****"**_Replied FRIDAY, anticipating the agent's question._

**"****... That's nice.****"**_Thomas didn't even bother to ask who this pajamas belongs as long as he slept in comfortable clothes._

The young boy took his time to enjoy a good invigorating shower, then changed to put the pajamas composed of a plain black shirt and dark gray pants, and lay on the bed. Thomas took the opportunity to connect his MP3 and his phone on the power strip near the nightstand before wrapping under the warm blankets. Exhaustion began to take him almost instantly.

**"****FRIDAY, you can turn off the lights, please** **?****"**

**"****Yes, Mr. Flanders.****"**_The artificial intelligence was executed, and the room was plunged into darkness._

**"****Thanks. You're cool, for an artificial intelligence.****"**

**"****Thank you. Have a good night, Mr. Flanders.****"**

On these last words, Thomas turned to the side of the wall and gently took out his crystal pendant to observe it in his hands. A faint glimmer flickered inside the jewel, like a frail flame lit on a candle. It wasn't unusual for the young boy to see this kind of light emanating from his necklace, but it was the first time in over a year that he saw his crystal radiate. Could it be that fate reserves something for him... ? After several seconds of contemplation that seemed to flow in minutes, Thomas slowly shook his head, put his pendant under his shirt and closed his eyes, letting himself go to sleep.

_I am not an exceptional being. I am a black cat._


	5. First day

_Hey. It's been a long time, right ?_

_ No, I didn't give up on this story. I always want to write Peter's adventures. But these last months were very complicated mentally for me... Between persistent depressive phases and my studies, it was hard for me to put my hands on the keyboard. But I managed to stood up and now I'm fine._

_ That said, enjoy your reading._

_ (And since it's been a long time, a small reminder : Thomas Flanders is Peter Parker)_

* * *

Thomas's eyes wandered around the dark room. The alarm clock on his bedside table indicated five o'clock in the morning.

It wasn't the first time that the young boy woke up so early. This happened frequently to him when he was a prisoner of HYDRA. It wasn't uncommon for the agents of the criminal organization to receive a night visit from their superiors to be "called" to isolated rooms, which was just an excuse to get rid of them in absolute secrecy. So each footstep approaching his cell was a source of anxiety that returned the belly of the former spy. His survival instinct kept him constantly awake and on his guard, which make him develop a chronical insomnia over time. Even after having regained his freedom, Thomas had trouble sleeping for more than six hours without being disturbed by a nightmare or his spider sense.

The young boy finally sighed, tired of looking at the ceiling. He slowly got up from the bed and put on a black jacket and his shoes. Thomas went to the kitchen, noticing that he was the only one being up. He wondered if he should enjoy having the room for himself to take his breakfast, but he finally decided to take his meal with the other residents of the Tower. The mutant still took a orange juice, and then borrowed the air vents located on the ceiling to go to the top of the compound. Once at destination, the young boy sat down, legs crossed, and stared at the sun illuminating the huge buildings of Manhattan in a pinkish hue, making them look like iron giants rising into the sky. The majestic atmosphere that emanated from his new environment contrasted with the mystical aura that Thomas used to see in Brooklyn, but it didn't displease him.

The mutant thus observed the day rise in a soothing silence. After several minutes of contemplation, Thomas thought it was time to join the Avengers for breakfast. He took the air vents again to return to his room, took off his shoes and went to the lounge, leaving his jacket resting on his shoulders. The familiar smell of fried eggs and toast slipped to his nostrils, which reminded him the warm atmosphere of the Orange Sunset. The young man saw Steve and Bucky preparing the meal in the kitchen, while the rest of the superhero team sat at the dining table.

"**Hello, Thomas.**" _Said __Rhodey, smiling at the young boy. The other Avengers turned their heads towards him._

"**Hello.**" _Replied the teenager politely._

"**Have you slept well ?**" _Scott asked._

"**Pretty good, yes.**" _Thomas didn't want to reveal to them that he was insomniac, and turned his head away._

"**Come on, don't be shy, my young friend ! Come and fill your belly with us !**" _Thor offered a big smile to the youngest member of the group and motioned him to sit next to him._

Thomas, at first hesitant, finally sat between the God of Thunder and Hawkeye. It was at this moment that Steve and Bucky arrived with breakfast. The two super-soldiers greet the newcomer, whom the young mutant politely returned. The Avengers ate quietly, discussing about several topics. Thomas stayed out of the chattering around him and tasted his meal in silence, not used to talk with adults - except Mr. Owen. But then, when he thought he managed to fade away…

"**By the way, Thomas, where do your powers come from ?**" _Bruce asked the Spiderling._

_Oh crap. _The teenager thought, feeling anxious because of the many eyes that suddenly turned to his direction. He let a few seconds passed by without saying anything, then he briefly sighed.

"**... I got bitten by a radioactive spider.**"

"**Outch... It must be hurtful.**" _Answered Pietro, with a grimace on his face._

"**Это точно.**" _The Russian accent escaped him without him realizing it._

A silence settled. Natasha looked at the mutant with big eyes, and so did Bucky and the Maximoff twins. Thomas remembered that he had completely forgotten to tell them he was bilingual.

"**Do you speak Russian ?**" _Natasha asked._

"**да.**" _The old spy replied with a nod. _"**I am bilingual.**"

"**How many languages do you speak ?**" _Asked Tony._

"**Six : French, Russian, Italian, Japanese, German and Portuguese.**"

"**Man ! You're more talented than you seems to be, little head !**" _Clint grinned and ruffled Thomas's hair._

"**... I just did what I have to do to communicate with the outside world.**"

Silence again. The Avengers looked at each other thoughtfully and somewhat confused... The teenager's calmness and maturity disarmed the superhero group. The latter seemed to carefully choose his words to answer their questions, both clear in terms of information but encrypted when it comes to talking about himself or his past experiences. Even Wanda, who used to read people's mind like an open book, doesn't know who is hidden behind this impassive mask. This moment of hesitation lasted a few seconds, then the atmosphere gradually relaxed.

After the breakfast finished, the residents of the Tower cleaned all the plates and cutlery before they put them in their place on the shelves. After that, everyone went back to their business : Tony was attending a meeting for Stark Industries with Pepper, Pietro and Wanda went out for a walk in New York, Bruce went to a laboratory to experiment with Vision, Clint was summoned by Nick Fury to report back of his last solo mission, and Scott, Rhodey, and Sam left for Greenwich to watch any suspicious action. Only Steve, Bucky, Natasha and Thomas remained in the big living room. The teenager sat on a chair away from them and look outside through the window. Nothing disturbed his thoughts until he felt a hand resting on his shoulder. Thomas frantically raised his head and met Bucky's eyes, visibly surprised by the quick reaction of the young boy.

"**Oh, sorry Thomas ! I didn't want to scare you.**" _Said the super soldier withdrew his hand._

"**... No, it's nothing. What is it ?**"

"**Me, Steve and Natasha have planned to train together. We thought it would be nice if you participate in our session to assess your fighting level and see how you use your abilities.**"

Thomas remained silent. He remembered the hard trainings that HYDRA had imposed on him despite being a child. No treatment was granted to him : either he supported the military pressure, or he die. Hand-to-hand fight, self-defense, weapons handling... The mutant had no choice but to push his body and mind beyond his limits. Long trainings wasn't that much of a problem for him.

The teenager nodded in approval.

"**Okay.**"

"**Very good. Then let's go.**"

The four residents went to the elevator and down the floors to get to a huge room training, as big as their private area. Thomas couldn't help but open his eyes wide and contemplate the room. Even the biggest infrastructure of HYDRA that he had vague memories of seemed tiny compared to this high tech place. The spy quickly grounded and followed Captain America and his companions to an area covered with padded carpets. They removed their shoes and any inconvenient accessories, and Steve motioned to Thomas to face him. The young boy complied without a word.

"**Alright.**" _Said the Captain_. "**We will start with a five-minute fight. Your goal will be to parry my blows, then to try to make me fall to the ground.**"

"**Okay.**" _Replied the mutant._

Thomas and Steve took a deep breath. The quiet atmosphere of the gym became more serious and suffocating... When Natasha started the stopwatch, the super soldier was the first one to move and ran towards the young boy. Thomas stood still, methodically analyzing his opponent's moves, then dodged Steve's punch with his spider sense, grabbed his arm, and knocked him down. Captain America landed on the carpet, fortunately without getting hurt during his fall, although he felt a slight tingling on his right arm.

The three adults looked at Thomas with a dumbfounded way... The young agent had just landed the symbol of America in less than two minutes, as if he was a low-level criminal. His gestures had been precise and fast, leaving no room for counteraction. Only Bucky had been able to be on the same level as Captain America in close fight. And yet, even without the Super Soldier Serum, the Spiderling's superhuman strength was powerful enough to fight on an equal footing as them.

After a moment of silence and once the surprise passed, Steve got up, looking at Thomas with an intrigued look.

"**Not bad ! You're doing well.**" _Complimented the Captain. _"**A little advice : once you hold your opponent, lower him down your body and hit him with a blow to the face with your knee.**"

"**Understood, I'll do that next time.**"

Natasha put the clock back and announced a new match. Steve ran towards Thomas again, who this time ran in his direction as well. The Captain threw a punch at the mutant, but the latter dodged them and counter them one by one. When an opening came up, the agent of SHIELD grabbed Steve's arm again, lowered him to the ground, then stopped his opponent and hit him in the face with his knee before releasing him and dropping him on the carpet. Once again, the three Avengers were taken aback by the spontaneity of the gesture of the teenager... Without the slightest demonstration, Thomas had perfectly reproduced the advice given him by the super soldier. Natasha didn't need many sequences to understand that the young boy was smart.

"**Wow...**" _Steve rubbed his red cheek after standing up. _"**You learn quickly.**"

"**Thanks. And sorry for the blow.**"

"**D****on't worry, he endured stronger strikes than that.**" _Jokingly replied Natasha._

Several fights ensued for an hour and a half. Thomas continued to dodge and threw well-placed blows, and managed most of the time to parry the actions of his opponents. He even managed to stop a metal punch from Bucky with one hand, which didn't fail to surprise the man. The mutant, however, had much more trouble predicting the movements of Black Widow : both of them were spies, and the mind counted far more than fists to defeat his enemy. That's why Thomas never relied solely on his spider sense and remained focused on his opponent to the end. Stop thinking meant a certain defeat. Thus, the matches between him and the assassin lasted longer than the ones with the two super soldiers.

_She's strong... _thought the Spiderling. _Very strong. I understand why she became an Avengers._

After a last fight that Black Widow won, Thomas let out a huge sigh. His head was slightly dizzy and his breathing was short and fast. He wiped the sweat on his forehead with his hand, while catching his breath. Natasha noticed his condition and put a hand on his shoulder.

"**You fight well, Thomas.**" _The voice of the woman was kind. _"**Your moves are effective and you quickly analyze the situation to take advantage of it. That's a good thing.**"

"**... Thank you, Ms. Romanoff.**" _Thomas answered in a murmur, not used to being complimented._

"**Have you ever fought before ?**" _Asked __Steve._

"**Sometimes, but rarely for a long time. And it was mostly out of self-defense.**"

"**Hm... I see.**"

Natasha became thoughtful. For someone who doesn't fight much, the boy had a level more than good for his age. Even though he knew about their difference of experiences, Thomas was able to confront her for several minutes without flinching, things that no freshly recruited agent of SHIELD has managed to accomplish. His moves, his reflexes, his speed, his thoughtful and spontaneous behavior... Everything was too well calculated to be only the result of his mutant nature. There was something mysterious about the teenager who intrigued the spy.

After regaining some strength, the small group continued to practice for three hours. The three Avengers could see the extent of the superhuman strength of Thomas, asking him to give a punch in a sandbag without retaining himself... The bag was thrown in a few seconds on the other side of the training room, bursting against the wall, letting the sand escape from the torn seams. Even Thomas was surprised by the violence of the impact after the adrenaline dropped. The three adults understand better how the Spiderling was able to withstand the attacks of the two super soldiers. The challenges the young apprentice faced grew in intensity as they progressed, but he was able to overcome them one by one.

And when he regained his senses, Thomas's belly made gurgles. The young boy instinctively looked away when his superiors realized the sound. Steve looked at his watch and saw that lunch was approaching.

"**Well, I think we can stop training for today.**"

"**Yes.**" _Said Bucky. _**"****We'd better start preparing the meal.**"

"**FRIDAY, tell the team members to meet on the private floor.**" _Asked Natasha._

"**Right away, Ms. Romanoff.**" _Answered the artificial intelligence._

"**Do you want to eat something in particular, Thomas ?**" _Asked Steve._

"**Um... I can eat almost everything, so it should be fine.**"

"**Chicken wings would suit you ?**"

"**Yes, I like it.**"

"**Great !**"

Steve, Bucky, Natasha and Thomas then put their stuff back and left the training room to go back to their private quarters. The two super soldiers went to the kitchen, the young woman went to change in her room and the teenager sat on a chair, took out his MP3, put on his headphones and listened to music. The world around him faded away, as he slowly closed his eyes. Suddenly, when the last notes of the music stopped, Thomas felt something settle on his face.

"**Who is it ?**" _Asked amusingly a male voice._

The agent of SHIELD became silent for a few seconds. He thought about who the voice could be... His tone was not as deep as Tony's or Thor's. It couldn't be Clint or Scott either, because they hadn't come back to the Tower yet. Then his super hearing made him understand that another person was standing by his side. By quickly proceeding by elimination, Thomas answered :

"**Quicksilver ?**"

"**Bingo !**" _Pietro withdrew his hands from the eyes of the kid and rest them on his shoulders._

Thomas removed his headphones and lifted his head to meet the Maximoff twins's eyes. They smiled at him in the same way as Leon and Phoebe when they approached him for the first time at the orphanage. When the Spiderling look a little closer at them, the runner and the witch shared a lot of common points with his best friends : Pietro's fiery temper, Wanda's cool behavior, their dominant red and blue colors... Thomas found in them a form of reassuring familiarity.

"**Did you come home right now ? I didn't hear you arrive.**" _Asked __Thomas._

"**Haha. You didn't see that coming, huh ?**"

"**Not really.**" _Actually because I was sleepy, _Thomas thought_._

"**We came back earlier than planned from our walk in town. We were in one of the gyms of the Tower when we heard the call from FRIDAY**" _Said Wanda._

"**I see.**"

"**What about you ? What did you do in the morning ?**"

"**I trained with Mr. Rogers, Ms. Romanoff and Mr. Barnes.**"

"**Oh ! Already the serious business ! They don't waste their time. Tell us what happened !**" _Asked Pietro._

Thomas didn't know how to react to the sudden interest of the Maximoff twins towards him. He wasn't really the kind of kid to engage the conversation, especially with important people like the Avengers. He was just an agent of SHIELD, without something that distinguishes him in particular - aside from his spider powers. However, the teenager didn't feel any malice from Pietro and Wanda, who seemed to really want to get closer to him.

The three mutants sat on the sofa and began to discuss about many things. The white-haired runner wrapped his arm around Thomas's neck as he told some funny stories about some Avengers (especially Clint), and the witch couldn't help but pat the young boy's head when she had the opportunity. The teenager was surprised by the Maximoff twins's kindness towards him. He thought they were more reserved than the other heroes and preferred to stay between them... But that didn't seem to be the case. Maybe because he was the youngest member of the team ? Probably. Whatever it is, Thomas felt calm with Pietro and Wanda, although he only listened to what his elders told him and nod at them.

Time passed, and all the Avengers gathered in the living room. Steve and Bucky arrived with dishes full of food and spread them all along the table, ready to feed an army. Each one of them fills his plate with chicken wings, rice and vegetables. Thomas admired the cooking skills of the two super soldiers and didn't hesitate to serve two extra rations, while the team looked amusingly at him. The mutant remembered the day he was found by Leon after his captivity at HYDRA... It was the first time in four years that he had been eating something warm and consistent, far from the tasteless and lukewarm meals of the criminal organization that he forced himself to swallow. The companionship between the adults and their distinct personalities also looked like the dynamics that Thomas had with his friends from the orphanage. It was almost disconcerting for him.

After lunch was over, the group of superheroes scattered all over the Tower to wander to their activities. Thomas, seeing that everyone had left the private quarter, sighed and went quietly to his room. Once alone, the young boy closed the door behind him and collapsed on the bed with a long sigh. He nonchalantly took his phone from the bedside table and sent a message to Mr. Owen and each of his fifteen friends, one by one, to give them news. Finally, Thomas put his phone in its place and covered his eyes with his right arm. The exhaustion of the morning training gradually began to cloud his mind, and it took him a few minutes to fall asleep.

* * *

_A peaceful atmosphere reigned around him. Thomas recognized the feeling of immensity that characterized his "empty" dreams. _

_However, something seemed different... Abnormal. The teenager slowly opened his eyes, and was greeted... By the sky ? _

_The Spiderling quickly got up. His eyes weren't detached from the night sky where only the moon shone in the darkness. As he rested his hands on the ground, Thomas felt something light and grainy between his fingers. He turned his head to his left, and realized that it was sand. The sound of the waves crashing down the coast finally tore the silence._

_The mutant recognized Ocean Beach in San Francisco. The place where he regained his humanity after fleeing HYDRA and crossing the ocean by himself._

_Thomas was surprised. When did he dream of a world with a distinct environment, real or imaginary, for the last time ? _

_Not knowing what to think or how to deal with this rare vision, the young boy sat cross-legged and contemplated the infinity of the sea. He let himself gently lulled by the soothing loneliness of the beach, finding for a short moment the feeling of freedom he had lost for four years._

_Suddenly, Thomas heard a noise coming closer to him. He turned around to see what it was about, and his eyes widened... Iron Man's armor appeared through the shadows, the bluish light of the ARC reactor and the eyes of the helmet glowing in the dark._

_The boy stared at his hero without being able to say a word... And after a silence that seemed to last for an eternity, Iron Man's voice rang out : _

"**Thomas ?**"

The mutant gradually regained consciousness. Thomas pulled his arm away from his face and adjusted his eyes to the light that had suddenly lit in his room.

"**Are you ok, kid ?**" _Tony asked, sitting on the edge of the boy's bed._

"**... Mr. Stark ?**" _The agent mumbled in a foggy voice. _"**What are you doing here ?**"

"**I was working on some projects in my lab, then we realized with the team that you quickly evaporated after lunch. I asked FRIDAY where you are, and she told me you were in your room and haven't moved since.**"

"**Oh... how long have I slept ?**"

"**Three hours. We are already late afternoon.**"

_Oops. _Thomas turned his head to the side of the wall to hide his surprise. He had not really planned to sleep that long, let alone his superiors.

"**You have a heavy sleep, huh ?**" _Tony remarked jokingly._

"**Not really, it's just that it's my habit to sleep during the day in the week-end.**" _Replied the mutant almost immediately to avoid any questions about his long naps. Which wasn't totally wrong since it was the only time of the week when he could rest and have a night's sleep of more than four hours._

The billionaire looked thoughtfully at the young boy, obviously in full reflection... Then he got up from the bed.

"**Whatever****. We'll soon have dinner. Are you coming, Underoos ?**"

"**Underoos ?**" _Thomas looked incredulously at Tony._

"**You can easily hang on surfaces with your powers, right ? Not to mention your solid and easily stretchable webs. Besides, I wanna know how have you created this product. It looks like a very ingenious composition.**"

The Spiderling didn't know what troubled him the most : the unlikely nickname that Tony gave him or the fact that he was interested in one of his inventions. The teenager had no problem showing his creations to his friends and Mr. Owen, but he had never dared to imagine that this could peek the interest of Tony Stark, one of the greatest geniuses in the world who became a superhero without depending on powers.

Seeing that the adult was waiting for a reaction from him, Thomas followed the billionaire to the living room. The mutant, after a few minutes of silence, told him how he managed to create the first formula of his webs from almost nothing in a very short time. The current version of his invention was the fourth, with optimum elasticity and strength, and counting an instant cast system from his optimized wristhands. Tony was very surprised by the young boy's change of character... As much as he was completely silent when he had to talk about himself, talking about science and mechanics seemed as natural to him as asking the weather. The explanations flowed smoothly, and the words used by the agent of SHIELD demonstrated a great intelligence that has nothing to envy to his or Bruce.

_This kid is a little genius. _Tony thought. _I understand how he was able to hack so many databases without ever being caught._

Suddenly, for a few seconds, the superhero saw himseld in Thomas... His years at the MIT came back to his mind, when he was the same age of the teenager. He, too, could speak of science for hours, often stood by himself and avoided the looks of the students who saw in him the shadow of his father Howard. A small voice whispered to him that this young boy had something special, something indescribable but yet present that distinguished him from some other agent of SHIELD, besides being a mutant.

The dinner was as lively as lunch. Clint and Pietro joked at each other when they have the opportunity, Sam and Thor were laughing at their comrades antics, while most of the Avengers were talking to each other. Thomas didn't talk that much and savored the homemade pizza prepared by Steve and Bucky. The teenager thought amusedly that the two super soldiers would make very good cooks if they weren't superheroes. Some questions were asked to him during the meal, but fewer than this morning. However, the mutant felt a few glances towards his direction from time to time. Thomas preferred not to pay attention to them and left his mind as empty and calm as a windless sea.

Once the table was cleared, the Avengers wished each other a good night and went back to their room. Thomas took the opportunity to take a good shower, put on his pajamas and collapsed with all his weight on his bed. He huddled under the warm blanket, and FRIDAY anticipated the boy's request and turned off the lights. Once the room was in the dark, the teenager reflexively pulled out his necklace to see if the light he had emitted the night before was just a coincidence or a real sign : again, a faint light illuminated the crystal.

_So it wasn't my imagination... _thought Thomas. _Now that I think about it, I felt my necklace warm up briefly against my skin during the day. How it's possible ? And why does this crystal continue to shine ? _

The teenager sighed, too tired to think, put his collar under his cheetah and closed his eyes.


	6. Hidden face

_Hey. It's been a long time. Sorry for this irregularity between the chapters, but I do my best to manage my studies and my passions. I've taken some time to rest, and I'm now ready to write again._

_ That said, enjoy your reading._

_ (And usual reminder: Thomas Flanders is Peter Parker)_

* * *

Two weeks passed since Thomas joined the SHIELD.

Tony was responsible for setting up the teenager's installation at the Tower with the help of Mr. Owen, whom he met at the Orange Sunset between two meetings. They got along pretty well - past the surprise of the forties man to speak to Iron Man himself, and the billionaire was taken aback by the benevolent aura that emanated from the owner of the Diner. Although he was part of a wealthy family, Cameron didn't care about his privileged status or profit. All that mattered to him was the well-being of his employees that he considered as his own children. Mr. Owen therefore agreed that Thomas stay at the Avengers Tower on the only condition that he could come to the Orange Sunset from time to time, a concession that Tony granted him. Since the mutant was emancipated, the process was shorter than expected and it took less than a day to gather the teenager's personal belongings at the complex.

Thomas's daily life became after that a routine : the boy watched the sunrise, trained early in the morning with the Avengers - mainly Natasha and Steve, and spent most of the day in his room hacking many data systems around the world with his computer. Even if he didn't fully trust Nick Fury, the Spiderling took his role as an agent seriously and made sure to report to the SHIELD any information he considered suspicious.

The mutant forgot time when his fingers touched the keyboard, his eyes locked on the bright screen in front of him. He had repeated the same moves so many times that he could reproduce them in his sleep. His concentration was optimal, his mind completely empty and his breath short. Nothing could stop his frantic movements until he explored the depths of the databases he infiltrated. However, Thomas didn't entirely cut himself off from reality. He made sure to take breaks when backing up data to a hard drive given by the SHIELD and avoided putting on his headphones as much as possible so as not to miss a call from one of his superiors. And once his task accomplished, he chatted at length with his friends by messages, which never failed to make him smile.

As the days goes by, Thomas slowly got used to living under the same roof as the Earth's mightiest heroes. Their character and the relationships they had with each other quickly appeared to him : conflictual at times, but respect and mutual understanding reigned within the team. Clint and Pietro sometimes bump on each other, but they are ready to work together if the situation requires it. Tony, as a theatrical man, often received eye rolls or scoldings from his companions, but they knew they could count on him in the battlefield. The days of the Avengers's hasty beginning seemed over, and they are now closer than ever.

They looked a lot like...

Thomas shook his head. The mere fact of mentioning this word reminded him of what he was deep inside... His child self sometimes appeared to him in the form of an illusion, like his last visit in the graveyard. He just looked at him without a word, with a sparkle in his eyes that he couldn't describe. But a voice almost immediately echoed in his mind.

_You are no longer human, remember ? The blood flowing in you is no longer the blood you used to have as Peter Parker. Have you forgotten what you lost in exchange for these powers and your freedom ? _

Thomas stopped typing on the keyboard and stared blankly at the screen, while the data transfer window appeared.

No, he hadn't forgotten. How could he forget the flames that ravaged his life ? Even if this tragedy had been caused by an external entity, he couldn't help but thinking that he was partly responsible of it. If it hadn't been for him, his parents could probably have run away with their works and destroyed them before HYDRA caught them, giving time to Ben and May to get him away from danger. And after that, the young man only accumulated the scars when happiness seemed to be at hand again.

A whirlwind of thoughts clouded the teen's mind, then he laid his head on his folded arms, sighing. The voice went silent and the illusion of his past self disappeared again. Thomas remained in this position for long minutes, taking advantage of this moment of silence to allay his torments, before straightening up and stopping his spyware once the backup was done. After carefully checking that all the datas were intact, the mutant turned off his computer and stretched his arms. Suddenly someone knocked on his door.

"**Thomas ? Are you there ?**"_Tony's voice echoed behind the door._

"**No, on Bespin.**"

The billionaire then entered the room.

"**Still hacking the country ?**"

"**No more than usual, Mr. Stark.**"

Tony snorts, then he noticed the big pair of glasses on Thomas' face, which he always wore when he visited the young boy.

"**What are these glasses for, exactly ?**"

"**They have several functions : night vision, thermal vision, a camera mode, a computer analysis system... But it especially helps me to regulate my senses.**"

"**Your senses ?**"

The mutant nodded.

"**When I was bitten by the radioactive spider, all my senses amplified by ten. Since then, if I am exposed to a too strong source of noise or light in a very short period of time, it causes me horrible headaches. That's why I wear these glasses and earpiece to work : they regulate my senses so I can stay focus.**"

Tony understood better why Thomas regularly asked FRIDAY to dim the light when he fell asleep. He mentally noted to add protocols on his AI to keep the kid comfortable.

"**How long did you had this equipment ?**"_Tony asked, mentioning the young boy's arsenal._

"**Four years.**"

"**And your uniform ?**"

"**It was just simple clothes, but I adapted them to my mutant's condition.**"

The superhero was impressed to see such gadgets last so long, and that a teenager was able to shape them without help. However, upgrading the kid's creations wouldn't be too much. Not that he found them obsolete, on the contrary, but having additional versions of his equipment instead of being limited to just one could be useful to him, like him with his different suits.

"**Would you like to work in my lab ?**"_Tony smiled softly when he saw the SHIELD agent's wide eyes._

"**What ?**"

"**You are very intelligent and resourceful. Your inventions are interesting, but some of them lack of ergonomy. They deserve some upgrades.**"

"**... Do you really mean that ?**"

"**Of course, underoos.**"

Thomas rolled his eyes at the nickname he got used to, which made Tony laugh. The two men went to the billionaire's private lab, located a few floors below the Avengers's quarters. The SHIELD agent admired all the technologies and the gigantic blue holograms broadcast around the room, his eyes wide open. He could hardly believe he was at the workshop of his idol, the man who saved his life a long time ago. Thomas quickly saw several decomposed parts of the Iron Man suit spread on one of the largest tables in the lab. _Probably a prototype for new armor_, he thought.

He and Tony worked all afternoon on the spy's inventions. They reviewed all the features of his optimized handwrists and uniform, taking notes on them as the tests progressed. The agent's quick thinking and ability to find different uses for the same technology didn't go unnoticed from Tony's eyes. As he interacted with the mutant, the billionaire found that his intuition was right : this kid was brilliant, even surpassing interns from Stark Industries, who were older than him.

At the end of the day, Thomas had new optimized handwrists, three new web formulas and a new pair of glasses with a simplified design entirely made up of Stark technology. The teenager did his best to contain his excitement when he saw his new arsenal, but Tony had noticed his eyes more bright than usual.

"**So ? What did you think of this lab session, kid ?**"_The billionaire asked._

Thomas came to his senses and quickly turned his head towards the hero.

"**It was cool. Very instructive, too.**"

"**Nice to hear it.**"_Tony patted Thomas on the back with his left hand, a smile on his face._

"**This is where you created your armor ?**"

"**Yes, as well as different versions of the team's weapons. It also gives access to multiple storages of the Tower and my gallery of armor.**"

"**I see.**"

Silence fell, where Thomas secretly observed the smallest details of the huge room while Tony put the spy's inventions - original and new - in a metal box so that he could bring him back to his room. The adult gave it to the young boy, and the latter thanked him for this improvised passage in the lab. After putting his inventions close to his desk, Thomas stretched out and lay down on his bed, staring at the ceiling without really seeing it. He felt his necklace roll against his skin, like a soothing sign allowing him to keep him grounded.

It had been several days since the mutant had left his little apartment of Brooklyn, and yet he felt that everything happened only yesterday. He had this kind of feeling when he was taken in by the Forescent orphanage after the fire of his house in Queens and when he was captured by HYDRA, where the warm and caring aura of the city changed into an anxiogenic base with gray and cold walls under the sea. After his escape, Thomas experienced the throes of the street while trying his best to return to New York by traveling hundreds of kilometers across the country on his own. After so much wandering, the young boy had forgotten what it felt like "to have his place somewhere". Sure, he was an agent of SHIELD and his living conditions were much better than those he had alongside HYDRA… But his experience in the two secret societies wasn't that different. Agent meetings are always so boring, the hacking reports he writes are so much alike that it was almost redundant, and his young age was viewed with a weird look by some adults of the organization (until he shows his intelligence or his fighting skills).

_I wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Owen left the SHIELD with such a gloomy atmosphere... Among other things. _Thomas thought.

Come to think of it, he spent no more time with the Avengers than with SHIELD employees. Aside from meal times, training, and a few moments when the team members are free, most of them had activities outside the Tower or had to leave somewhere for some reason or another. And it doesn't count his work as an IT spy which requires all his concentration, forcing him to stay locked in his room to carry out his missions.

Despite all this, Thomas didn't complain. He wasn't surprised that the Avengers were in great demand, and therefore stayed alone most of the time. The young boy was aware of his role and his duties as an agent, and he fulfilled them as agreed in his contract with Nick Fury. That didn't stop him from being sassy towards the director of SHIELD, which made him internally laugh when he saw the latter's scowl.

As he felt his eyelids grow heavy, Thomas heard someone knock on his door.

"**Who is it ?**"_Asked the boy after sitting down on the edge of his bed._

"**It's me, Scott !**"_Ant-Man entered the room, a smile on his lips._

"**Hey, Mr. Lang.**"

"**You can call us by our names, kid.**"_The hero sat down next to Thomas. _"**So, it seems that you impressed Tony today ?**"

"**I see that** **rumors are spreading quickly.**"

"**It's not like I heard "by chance" this dear Iron Man praise your intelligence to Rhodey and Bruce, absolutely not.**"_Scott laughed softly. Thomas appreciated the happy character of Lang, which complemented well with Clint's. He couldn't help but feel a sense of pride when he learned that his childhood hero recognized his genius. _"**Oh right, we are organizing a movie night with the whole team. I wanted to know if you wanna see something in particular.**"

"**Me ?**"

"**Yes ! Since this is the first movie night of the year for us, I thought it would be nice if we saw something you like.**"

_Even they do movie nights ? _Thomas thought.

"**... It's nice to have thought of that.**"

"**Hehe !**"

Thomas began to think. He had made up for a large part of the movies he'd missed in the recent years thanks to Caleb. The choice was rather limited... Then he thought back to movies he hadn't seen in a long time, and a title came to his mind.

"**I would like to see the Lord of the Rings again.**"

"**Got it.**"_Scott stood up and reached out for Thomas. _"**Let's go. Dinner will be ready soon.**"

The mutant stood still for a few seconds, fixing Lang's gaze, then took the hand of Ant-Man who helped him to get up. The two of them headed for the living room and were greeted by the rest of the Avengers. As always, many scathing aftershocks fired between Pietro, Clint and Sam when they played Mario Kart. Thor ruffled Thomas's hair almost immediately after seeing the boy's head, with a big smile on his face. Once they have agreed on their movie night, the superhero team sat down at the table to enjoy their meal. The lively discussions between the adults didn't escape the boy's ears, although he remained silent most of the time.

After the Tower residents finished washing and storing the cutlery, they set up the living room to sit near the television : Pietro, Wanda, Vision and S cott on the left sofa, Bruce, Natasha, Sam, Steve and Bucky on the right sofa, Thor, Clint, Rhodey and Tony on the central sofa. Thomas went to an armchair to move it between two rows, but the billionaire signaled to him that he had a place next to him. The agent of SHIELD therefore sat down near Iron Man, without knowing how to react. FRIDAY finally launched the movie once the team was comfortably installed.

Midnight struck when the end credits sounded. The Avengers were carried away by the adventures of the Fellowship of the Ring, so they didn't see the time go by. But when he turned his head to his right, Tony noticed that the teenager was starting to doze and his head flickering.

"**Looks like someone needs to sleep.**"_Tony said amusingly._

"**I'll take care of it.**"_Bucky replied, raising his hand. He used to bring his brothers in arms back to their bedroom when they dozed off in the living room._

White Wolf gently carried the boy in his arms, carefully avoiding waking him, and carried him to his bed before covering him with the blankets. He then watched him for a few seconds... The boy's facial features were softer when he slept, looking even younger than he already was. Bucky had this feeling of deja vu again with the teenager, without understanding where it came from. He sometimes remembered the candid face of a child mingling with those, harsher, of agents of HYDRA that he knew as a Winter Soldier... If the super soldier was aware that part of his memories were fabricated by the criminal organization, he could still feel the difference between an illusion and an authentic event. And that kind of details seemed too familiar to him to be just a coincidence.

Bucky shook his head, and simply ran his hand through Thomas's hair tenderly. He finally left when he began to feel exhausted. FRIDAY turned off the lights by itself after the soldier closed the door behind him.

* * *

The room was dark. There was a deep silence between the walls. The environment was calm and protective.

However, Thomas opened his eyes in the middle of the night.

Not because of a noise he detected through the walls. Not because of a nightmare. But out of insomniac habit.

The young boy turned his head to see the time on his alarm clock on the bedside table : two in the morning.

Thomas sighed. Obviously, the sandman will take some time to arrive. So he got up from his bed, took his MP3 with him and silently made his way to the living room. The absence of move and human presence gave the mutant the impression that the room had doubled in size. But looking through the window, he could clearly see the illuminated buildings and the moon shining in the sky.

The kid sat cross-legged on the couch, put on his headphones and played music with a soft and haunting melody. The world around him gradually faded away like mist, while his eyelids closed to appreciate the piano and violin notes that sounded softly in his ears. His mind was emptied of all thought and became a long, calm river rocked by the wind.

And as time and reality seemed to run out of steam, Thomas felt a hand on his shoulder. The magic around him disappeared, and he opened his eyes. His gaze met Pietro's one, who seemed rather surprised to see the agent of SHIELD standing up this late.

"**Pietro.**"_Murmured the Spiderling._

"**Are you okay, Thomas ?**"_Asked the runner in a low voice for not scaring the kid._

The young boy, still daydreaming a little, didn't react immediately. Then once fully aware of his surroundings, he removed his headphones to tell Quicksilver that he had his full attention. The adult sat down next to Thomas, his dark clothes taking on a bluish tinge with the light from outside.

"**Why are you up so early ? You can't sleep ?**"

"**Not really. I'm just used to waking up late at night.**"

"**Are you an insomniac ?**"

Thomas nodded. Pietro had the impression of seeing his sister again when they were younger, when they had to survive in Sokovia by themselves : she often wore an empty gaze too, her head bowed and her hands clasped, to hide her distress and repressed anger. The adult remained silent, not wanting to leave the adolescent alone.

After several minutes without a sound, Thomas suddenly spoke again.

"**When I can't sleep, I listen to music to relax until I feel tired. It can last an hour like an entire night.**"

"**It happens often ?**"

"**Yes. I tried last year to follow a curfew to get roughly a normal sleep schedules, but I quickly stop.**"

"**Why ?**"_Pietro put a hand on Thomas's shoulder with worrying eyes._

"**...**"_The boy paused. It was the first time that he had put words on this problem that had followed him for five years. _"**Sleeping in a closed and silent space make me anxious.**"

The runner was a bit surprised by this revelation, but he quickly understood what the young agent meant. He too had experienced this horrible feeling of being trapped between four walls, without the possibility of running away. Nothing was more unbearable for him than being apart from the people he loved. It took him almost three months to feel comfortable at the Avengers Tower after he and his sister agreed to join the team. Pietro therefore knew very well how Thomas felt.

Quicksilver moved closer to the Spiderling and wrapped his arms around the youngest, his right hand caressing his curly hairs. Thomas, taken by surprise, remained still and looked at the eldest with curiosity.

"**Pietro ?**"

"**My sister also had insomnia after the death of our parents. So I reassured her, taking her in my arms and stroked his head until she falls asleep.**"_Pietro's voice was soft._

"**.****..**"_Thomas didn't know what to answer._

The boy rested his head on Pietro's shoulder, letting the older man continue to run his hand through his hair. This little gesture made Quicksilver smile. They appreciate the soothing silence of the huge living room, lit by the artificial lights from outside.

"**… Hey.**"

"**Hm ?**"

"**It's probably not my business, but... How did you and Wanda become part of the Avengers ?**"

Pietro didn't really expect this question. But when he saw the teenager's genuinely puzzled look in his arms, his eyes brighter than usual, all hesitation disappeared from his mind.

"**It goes back to 2015. The civil war was eating away Sokovia due to the growing anger of citizens against Stark Industries. Me and my sister lost our parents because of the company's bomb that destroyed our home when we were young. We quickly felt a deep aversion to Tony Stark after this event. And one day, after a violent demonstration, a man appeared in front of us claiming that he can grant us extraordinary abilities to fight our enemies : Baron Von Strucker. He experimented on us for weeks with the help of an alien scepter, which awakened our powers : superspeed for me, telekinetic abilities for Wanda.**"

The runner paused.

"**I spent my time running from one end of my small cell to the other to control my new powers, and I heard Wanda crush objects with hers on the other side of the wall. And then one day, without knowing what happened, I passed out on the ground. It was then that the Avengers stormed in the base where we were held prisoner and found us, taking us to the Tower. I think it's useless to say that the awakening was rather brutal for me and my sister... How did we get from our native Sokovia to the country we hated so much in the space of a day ?**"

"**I guess so.**"

"**We first tried to run away, but the treatment room where we were was indestructible against superhuman abilities. Since they quickly understood that we were hostile towards them, the Avengers spoke to us through an hologram. The interrogation lasted several days, until they informed us that they had found on my clothes a USB key containing informations about Sokovia. It was at this moment that me and Wanda discovered the existence of HYDRA, and that this criminal organization was responsible of the chaos on our native land. It was them who implicitly tell dangerous criminals to steal powerful weapons from Stark Industries and detonate them on all sides of Sokovia to sow fear and hatred in the hearts of the inhabitants, by rejecting the fault on America and the Avengers.**"

Silence.

"**Ironic, right ? For years, meand my sister blindly hated a man who wasn't directly responsible for the death of our family, and we were manipulated by assholes who took advantage of our weaknesses.**"

"**…**"

"**Seeing all our acquired collapsing before our eyes, our anger was no longer directed to Tony and the Avengers... But to HYDRA. We decided to help them to put an end to the actions of this bastards. Thanks to their help, we were able to stop the evil that was eating away Sokovia and save thousands of people. After that, Steve offered us to stay by their side to watch over the world with them. We were initially hesitant because of our powers, but after seeing all these people thanking us for giving them hope, we finally agreed to join the Avengers.**"

"**And than ?**"

Quicksilver smiled at Thomas.

"**It took us a while to fully open up to them, but we managed to get along with the team and appreciate this new country. It was the first time since the death of our family that I saw Wanda smile... And it made me really happy.**"

The Spiderling, touched by Pietro's story, unconsciously wrapped one of his arms around the eldest's waist. His eyes was hidden by his bangs, but he was internally relieved to see that the Maximoff twins were able to find light after so much misfortune. He didn't regret having risked his double agent cover to save them from HYDRA's grip.

Pietro noticed the boy's embrace, and tightened his own by reflex.

_This boy isn't as distant as he lets it appear. _He thought.

He looked up, then he had the strange feeling of having seen someone watching them before disappearing. The runner looked around to see if there was anyone, but he saw nothing.

_I probably dreamed._

Pietro noticed that Thomas had fallen asleep against him, sighing at a regular rhythm and his hand tied to his shirt. Moved by the adorable face of the teenager, the mutant took the youngest in his arms, being careful not to wake him up, then he brought him back to his room and put him back in his bed. He felt tired, but he didn't want to leave his little protege alone knowing that he could have an insomnia crisis again. After a few seconds of reflection, Pietro finally lay down next to him. He gently ran a hand through his curly hair, before closing his eyes, smiling.

"**Good night, Thomas.**"


	7. Baptism of fire

_Hey._

_In these troubled times, I was ironically able to find the time to devote myself to writing. Here is the continuation of the adventures of Peter/Thomas and the Avengers._

_(However, don't expect a regular rhythm of publication of chapters. I try hard to concil my student life and my passions. I don't like to botch my stories. Please stop asking me when a chapter will come out)_

_That said, enjoy your reading._

* * *

A blue and golden color colored Manhattan. The streets began to fill with people, but the cars managed to circulate without much difficulty.

After watching the sun rise between the gigantic buildings at the top of the Avengers Tower like every morning, Thomas felt the urge to go outside to walk. It had been a month since he hacked between four walls, only allowing himself to go out on Wednesdays when his friends at the Orange Sunset organized group nights. It was Tony's personal driver, Happy Hogan, who would take him to Brooklyn when he needed it and take him back to the complex. The adult was initially surprised and somewhat annoyed to find himself assigned to a teenager, but after several car trips from one end of New York to the other, he ends up getting used to the presence of Thomas and no longer has any problems driving the Avengers apprentice wherever he wanted. But the mutant didn't want to disturb Happy this morning. He didn't have to go far into the town… walking around the neighborhood was enough for him. The young boy returned to his room, took a shower, dressed in a gray shirt, jeans, sneakers, a black leather jacket and his inseparable black mask, and he discreetly left the Tower to stroll in the small streets of Manhattan, far from crowds and curious eyes.

As he walked, old memories came into his head... He remembered a day when, during an event organized by the orphanage, he and his best friends Leon and Phoebe went away from the group to see the emergency stairs on the side of a building from their own eyes, something they only seen in movies. Meghan and Sebastian had to come back to get them so they don't get lost in the middle of New York. They had been vaguely reprimanded by their comrades, but the trio had a good laugh. Thomas smiles behind his mask as he remembers this mishap.

The agent of SHIELD arrived after an hour towards Central Park. The wind was a bit cold, but the weather was very pleasant. He headed to the center of the huge green field, then he sat quietly on a bench. The young boy could see from afar the Avengers Tower which exceeded all the buildings around. Few people were present, apart from a few runners and employees enjoying a morning stroll before starting their day work.

Thomas sighed before looking up at the sky... The soothing atmosphere of the park and the wind caressing his skin reminded him of the day he regained his freedom after having reduced HYDRA to ashes. He was lying near a tree, contemplating the sky lit up and wondering what would become of him. Revenge was the only thing that kept him alive for four years, but once it was over, he had no prospect of life except living day to day like a cat. And yet, even though he did everything to keep his mutant nature secret, Thomas was far from imagining that his path would cross that of Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

_Well, fate likes to play tricks on me. _He thought.

Then the boy became thoughtful... He saw the faces of his superiors in his mind. Although he doesn't spend a lot of time with the Avengers because of their respective jobs, Thomas felt comfortable alongside them. Clint and Scott liked to involve him in their games and were considerate of him, Sam was very funny, Thor and Rhodey were the embodiment of kindness, Pietro and Wanda treated him like a little brother, Steve, Bucky, Vision and Bruce were gentle with him, and he got along well with Natasha and Tony. He was also on good terms with Agent Coulson and Maria Hill. It was hard for the mutant to deny that he was honored to be around such extraordinary people.

However, Thomas knew he wasn't a real member of the team. Although he was a competent spy who knew how to make the best of his powers, that didn't mean that he was fitting to be a hero. The young boy didn't consider himself worthy of being one.

He was trained to be a war machine. Whenever he saw his reflection in the mirror, he wondered if this more muscular body than that of a normal teenager and with enhanced senses was his, and if these hands which knew how to hack and wield weapons belonged to him. Even if his actions saved millions of lives and innocent people from suffering the same misfortunes as him, the destruction of the criminal organization was above all a personal revenge. A selfish desire.

Thomas sighed, then lowered his head. He looked at the time on his phone and saw that it was ten o'clock. All the Avengers had to be awakened. The young boy got up from the bench and made his way back to the Tower. Once arrived at the building, he went to the main entrance and pulled out his Stark Industries intern card in front of the security gate. Indeed, in order to avoid any questioning about the presence of a minor in the complex, Tony had created a badge attesting to him that he was his personal assistant and had the right to enter in the Tower. Thomas was at first surprised when the billionaire made the offer, but it only took him a few seconds to accept. He couldn't refuse to work with his idol. Their lab sessions later became more regular, and the teen learned a lot from his new mentor. The Spiderling enjoyed these moments when they were together, talking about mechanics and science. Bruce joined them from time to time, and the boy was just as happy to chat with Doctor Banner.

The agent of SHIELD put his card on the scanner, then a familiar voice greeted him.

**"Scan finished. Level of the intern: 10. Entry authorization. Welcome back, Mr. Flanders." **

**"Thank you, FRIDAY." **_Thomas politely thanked the AI. He walked for a while to the elevator before speaking again. _**"By the way, you can call me Thomas. "Mr. Flanders" seems a bit too formal for me."**

**"Okay, Thomas."**

The teenager smiles again behind his mask.

The elevator went up for five minutes to the Avengers quarters. When Thomas got out, he noticed that no one was in the living room.

**"FRIDAY ? Where are the Avengers ?" **_Asked the boy towards the ceiling._

**"Boss and his team are currently in a meeting room. It seems that the deployment of all the Avengers is committed for a mission."**

_A deployment of the whole team, huh..._

The mutant began to think... It was perhaps the right time to show his hacker skills to the Avengers. Up to this point, the superheroes had only had solo or small group missions, so requiring no external support. But for a larger mission, having an additional member would probably not be too much. In addition, this task was part of his agreement with Nick Fury.

_Looks like my baptism of fire has come. _Thought the agent of SHIELD.

Thomas went to his room to put on his spy uniform and take his new arsenal. He then slipped into the air ducts to join his superiors by locating them with his glasses. Once in the meeting room, the teenager opened the hatch on the ceiling and pulled half of his body out of the opening, hanging upside down.

**"**_**Bonjour.**_**"**_Said the boy in a perfect french to catch the attention of the Avengers._

The adults, surprised by the sudden appearance of this mysterious voice, looked towards the source of the noise. Many of them had wide eyes and a shocked expression on their faces, with the exception of Natasha, Hawkeye, Steve and Bucky. Nothing very surprising coming from agents accustomed to camouflage.

**"Hello, Thomas." **_White Wolf said calmly. This had the effect of bringing the rest of the team back to their senses._

**"Hey, Sergeant Barnes."**

**"Is it your habit to appear like that, kid ?" **_Tony asked while taking a breath._

**"Through the air ducts ? No. But I'm used to sneaking in. Habits that die hard on a daily basis, I recognize it." **_Thomas pulled his body completely out of the ceiling opening and landed on the floor. _**"Sorry for the fear."**

**"It's nothing. Just think of going by the door next time." **_Steve said._

**"Understood, Captain." **_The young boy paused. _**So… "What's the situation ?"**

**"****Me, Natasha and Clint were sent five days ago to Russia to investigate about suspicious radio transmissions, which turned out to be coded messages.****" **_Bucky told. _**"We went up the transmission track to Saint Petersburg, and we discovered a clandestine weapons reserve there. Upon inspecting the crates filled with ****merchandises****, it became apparent that some of them contained alien components."**

**"Alien weapons ? Like the ones in the New York attack ?"**

**"Not exactly." **_Hawkeye replied. _**"****We did found pieces of Chitauri weapons, but the majority of the objects we found were mostly shards and stones containing energy from space, like the Tesseract.****"**

**"Before returning to the Tower, we had the traffickers arrested, brought the components with us and took their database to find out who was their client." **_Said Natasha._** "We have been able to recover a large part of the information collected, but one area is still encrypted."**

**"Can I see it ?" **_Thomas asked._

The spy nodded and turned the computer in front of her to the young boy. Dozens of lines of code scrolled across the screen in a mixture of letters and 0 and 1, almost giving the impression that the device was corrupted by a virus. Thomas took a deep breath, then he went up the source code and carefully observed each line in order to decipher it and give access to the hidden files. The heavy atmosphere and the numerous pairs of eyes directed towards him almost make his hands tremble, but the agent of SHIELD kept calm.

After several seconds without a single noise, the mutant noticed that he had already seen this kind of encrypted system during one of his many hackings... This hybrid fusion of BASIC language and binary wasn't foreign to him. He turned his attention to certain specific lines to verify his hypothesis, and this seemed to be the correct one.

**"So ? Anything new ?" **_Pietro said, who found it increasingly difficult to bear the heavy silence of the room._

**"I think I know what it is."**

**"Really ? What is it ?" **_Asked Bruce._

**"****An intelligent system called NEXUS. It's a security program written in both BASIC and binary. Since these are two different computer languages mixed together, it blurs the tracks and makes hacking difficult, because the slightest error in manipulation delete all the source code and the hidden data within, in addition to erasing the memory of the computer and make it totally out of order.****"**

**"That sucks !" **_Sam exclaimed._

**"I understand better why I had such a hard time deciphering this source code." **_Natasha murmured._

**"Me too, the first time I saw this series of letters and numbers appear on the screen of my computer, I was completely lost." **_admitted the spy to his superior. _**"But this program is not as effective as it seems."**

The attention of the Avengers was on Thomas again.

**"Those who wanted to appropriate these alien components probably thought that this system resembling a poisoned lock would be enough to cover their tracks... But they didn't pay attention to its composition. We have to delete these lines of code..." **_The agent of SHIELD removed five lines of code, all in different places from the source code. Natasha watched the teenager doing his job with precision. _**"Add this keyword at the end of the last line..." **_He wrote "asl01" with the keyboard. _**"And…"**

After pressing the Enter key, the computer screen blurred, then a window appeared in which was written "access unlocked". Several files were opened by holographic projection of FRIDAY in front of the superhero team. They now had a location : a secret scientific facility hidden on the outskirts of Iowa run by a criminal group called "Mad Wolf". They were a hundred scientists and soldiers, and they wanted to acquire alien tech to recreate bombs similar to HYDRA Parasites - missiles as powerful as an atomic bomb capable of destroying entire cities. Steve and Bucky's eyes darkened after discovering the intentions of the criminals, while their memories of the war came back in their minds.

**"Here are the criminals." **_Said Vision._

**"With a ridiculous name." **_Tony sarcastically said._

**"We now know who we are dealing with." **_Said Steve with a serious voice. _**"We must arrest these men before they can finish building these bombs."**

Thomas silently watched his superiors discuss the upcoming operation among themselves, then turned his head slightly to his right, his eyes blank.

_You are not an Avengers. You are simply an agent of SHIELD. They won't let you go with them. _The voice whispered in his mind, still there to remind him of what he was and what he could never be.

The boy knew that the adults would be fine on their own. They weren't called "Earth's Mightiest Heroes" for nothing. He said it himself when he first met Nick Fury : some of them were true legends, with many heroic exploits. The mutant was a small bug next to them. His young age isn't playing in his favor, and his superiors won't let him throw himself into a high-risk battlefield, even if he had proved them that he could fight. Staying at the Tower seemed inevitable to him, and he didn't intend to insist on going with them.

After having meticulously prepared their strategy, the Avengers finally left the meeting room and join the Quinjet that was waiting for them on the landing strip of the Tower.

Thomas found himself alone in the large room. He looked at the blue holograms still projected, especially the miniaturized representation of the secret facility... Then an idea lit up in his head.

**"FRIDAY ?"**

**"Yes, Thomas ?"**

**"Do the Avengers have a communication device to talk to each other ?"**

**"Yes. Sir has created specialized earpieces for all team members."**

A smirk appeared on Thomas's lips.

**"Perfect."**

The Quinjet flew for an hour to the outskirts of Iowa. Thanks to the high altitude, the Avengers quickly found the base of the Mad Wolf. The facility was on a deserted plain, hidden behind a giant artificial quarry. It had a central three-floors building with modern and technologically advanced architecture, as well as launch platforms.

Natasha, in command of the ship, gradually lowered the Quinjet by activating the invisibility function so they don't be spotted by the criminals. After landing on the ground several meters from the quarry, the Avengers approached the Mad Wolf base and looked from above : around fifty men were traveling with rifles in their hands and grenades attached to their belts, but a handful of them had pieces of cybernetic implants on their arms and blasters similar to those of HYDRA agents in Sokovia. The rest of the staff were hidden inside the building.

The heroes didn't waste any more time and put their plan into action. Thor jumped very high from the quarry then shot Mjolnir on the ground when he landed, releasing a gigantic electric shock causing the bandits to lose their balance. Rhodey, Vision, Sam and Hulk soon joined the God of thunder to support him. The rest of the team took advantage of the confusion to break into the facility and split into two groups : Natasha, Clint, Pietro and Scott climbed the stairs to go to the upper floors, while Steve, Tony, Bucky and Wanda went down to the basement to find the bombs.

Getting rid of the guards and scientists was pretty easy, even if some of them gave the superheroes a hard time. However, the size of the establishment and its many rooms made the mission more complicated than expected.

**"How is the situation outside ?" **_Asked Captain America while pressing his earpiece, after getting rid of five men._

**"Two thirds of the criminals have been brought under control." **_Sam replied. _**"But the soldiers with the cybernetic implants are tough."**

**"There are far too many doors inside." **_Pietro replied. _**"It's endless !"**

**"Most of them are fake rooms or laboratories." **_Natasha said. _**"It may take a while to find the building control room."**

**"Tch ... These bastards have planned everything." **_Tony hissed between his teeth._

**"Language."**

**"Maybe I can help." **_Suddenly answered a youthful voice in the ear of the Avengers._

The adults, shocked, finally recognized the owner of this voice.

**"Kid ? Is that you ?" **_Tony asked._

**"Yes, Mr. Stark." **_Thomas replied._

**"How did you get access to the STARK system ? Did you hack it behind my back ?"**

**"I could've, but I don't. I just asked FRIDAY to connect my spy arsenal with her."**

**"Is that true, FRI ?" **_The billionaire was rather surprised that his AI had accepted such a proposal, even if he knew that the boy had no bad intentions._

**"Yes, sir."**

Tony couldn't help but chuckles at the thought that for a spy, Thomas was very polite.

**"While you were on your way to the Mad Wolf base, I hacked into their security system. I now have access to all of their cameras. Oh, and I disabled any means of self-destruction of the facility, by the way." **_Explained the Spiderling._

**"It's good to know." **_Tony used his repulsors on the criminals, but he listened carefully to the spy._

**"The base doesn't have one, but two control rooms : one to manage the activity of the building, the other to store their data. The first is on the third floor, room 60, on south. The second is in a secret room, room 30, located on the second floor. The entry door is a false library."**

**"What about the bombs ?" **_Bucky asked._

**"There are three : one in the east under a launch platform, one in the west in a reserve, and the last in the north in a construction site. None of them are ready to launch, but they remain unstable."**

**"Understood. Tony, take care of the site. Wanda and Bucky, go to the launch platform. I take care of the reserve."**

**"Fine by me." **_Iron Man replied._

Thomas watched the Avengers mission from the Tower with holograms projected by his optimized handwrists. He guided the two teams through the facility, directing them to the bombs and control rooms, opening doors for them, or warning them of imminent danger. The young boy didn't let his attention drop from the blue screens, ready to act at any moment.

Time passed, and Black Widow found herself in the hidden control room. It had a central screen and a dashboard. Thomas had told her earlier that there was a USB medium where she could recover the data of the base. The spy took out her USB key given by SHIELD and installed the tool. After a few manipulations and with the help of her protégé, the data transfer started.

**"Steve, I found one of the control rooms. I am taking all their data." **_Natasha warns with her earpiece._

**"Understood." **_Captain America had just arrived in front of the reserve bomb. _**"Hawkeye, Ant-Man, Quicksilver, how it's going on for you ?"**

**"All right, Cap." **_The archer replied. _**"We got rid of the last annoyers. We are in the second control room, and we are ready to cut the power throughout the area."**

**"I found one of the bombs." **_Tony said. _**"Bucky and Wanda too."**

**"Thomas ? Do you know how we can turn them off without exploding everything ?" **_Asked the super soldier to the mutant._

**"Yes. You have to open a compartment located on the shell of the missile to find the supply box. There is a button which make the weapon completely inoperable."**

The group of Captain America didn't waste a minute and followed Thomas's directions. There was indeed a supply box with two buttons under the shell of the bomb and cartridges filled with blue liquid. The button to press was the one with the name "Alpha" marked below. The missile made a muffled noise, then the cartridges emptied one after the other and the explosive contents spread on the ground.

**"The bombs were neutralized, sir." **_FRIDAY said after a few minutes of silence. _**"They are now unusable."**

**"Another threat successfully stopped." **_Tony said._

Steve pressed a button on his earpiece to communicate with all the heroes.

**"Avengers ? Situation report."**

**"All the men are down. Not a single one moves." **_Thor exclaimed, though the Hulk's screams could be heard in the background._

**"I got all the data from the database." **_Black Widow continued. _**"I deleted the memory of the computers just in case. Clint, you know what you have to do."**

**"Oh yeah. Lights out !"**

The archer pulled a handful of the dash towards him, then the whole area was plunged into darkness. The Mad Wolf have lost.

Mission accomplished.

Thomas sighed in relief from his bedroom. It was the first time since his infiltration to Oscorp that he had been so tense. This surge of adrenaline reminded him of the moments when he hacked the HYDRA databases, always on alert and not allowing himself the slightest failure. It wasn't easy to communicate with thirteen people at the same time, but he rose to the challenge and held out until the end. It was a victory for him.

**"Thomas ?" **_The billionaire's voice suddenly made him come to himself._

**"Yes, Mr. Stark ?"**

**"Good job, kid. We were all able to get by thanks to you."**

The mutant's cheeks turned slightly red. Did Iron Man compliment him ? Did his childhood hero really congratulate him for his role ? It took a few seconds to record this information, then he ran a hand through his hair and instinctively lowered his head.

**"Y... You're welcome." **_"__Crap, I stuttered.__"__ He thought. _

**"There is still a lot to do on the site." **_Warns Steve. _**"Weapons and materials must be brought back to the complex, and this will take some time."**

**"I see."**

**"Are you okay with that ?" **_Bucky asked with perceptible concern in his voice._

**"Don't worry, my friend. I'm sure the kid will be able to take care of himself." **_Thor retorted with conviction. Thomas internally thanked the Asgardian for his intervention._

**"We're coming back soon, kid." **_Tony said reassuringly._** "We'll celebrate with shawarmas."**

**"**…**I can't wait." **_None of the Avengers could see him, but a smile appeared on the boy's lips._

Thomas's holograms disappeared after that. The pressure on the young boy's shoulders eased, and he lay flat on his stomach on his bed. The mutant remained still for several minutes, before getting back correctly on his back and fixing the ceiling. He then took his phone and texted Mr. Owen and his friends to tell them about his first mission as the Avengers apprentice. Many questions were asked, and the teenager laughed while seeing some messages from his comrades. After having discussed a good part of the morning with them, Thomas sat cross-legged, took his MP3 and his brand new headphones (offered by Clint), started a music and let himself be soothed by the melody, eyes closed and back leaning against the wall.

Time passed in soothing silence. Thomas opened his eyes and released a yawn.

**"Hey, FRIDAY" **_The agent of SHIELD said with a foggy voice. _**"What time is it ?"**

**"It's 2 p.m., Thomas. You slept for about an hour." **

**"Oops ... Looks like the headpiece works better than I thought." **_The mutant cleared his throat after being fully awake. _**"Have the Avengers returned ?"**

**"****Boss**** and his team have just finished boarding the weapons of the Mad Wolf secret facility on the SHIELD's Heliporter. The criminals were arrested and imprisoned at the Raft. A mission report is currently in progress for an indefinite period of time."**

**"Okay. Thank you, FRIDAY."**

**"****You're** **welcome, Thomas."**

The teenager got up from his bed and instinctively headed for the living room. He took a large glass of orange juice in the kitchen and then played Mario Kart for a while, even beating some highscores held by Clint and Scott. A smile appeared again on his face.

Towards 6 p.m., while he was writing notes on his phone slumped on the couch, the boy heard the elevator door open. He saw all the Avengers appear one after the other, tired but satisfied with having succeeded in their mission. Thomas greeted them politely, and he barely had time to react when Pietro rushed to him and took him in his arms, followed by his sister.

**"Surprise, Tom !" **_Exclaimed Quicksilver with a big smile, proud to have taken the agent of SHIELD out of track._

Thomas watched the Maximoff twins without a word, looking slightly dazed, then put his hands on Pietro's head and ruffled his hair frantically for a few seconds. This surprised the young man, and so did Wanda.

**"You didn't see that coming, don't you ?" **_Thomas replied with a smirk._

Suddenly, it was the siblings who didn't know what to say... But not very long, because Pietro hugged the boy again, obviously not annoyed to have been fooled.

**"You're good, you little brat !"**

Wanda laughed softly at the behavior of the two boys, and a few Avengers still present in the living room smiled warmly in front of this scene.

When dinner time sounded, the shawarmas Tony had ordered earlier for the whole team arrived. The meal was quieter than usual but some scathing punchlines were still dropped. The evening ended well, and everyone went to bed early after this long day.

Thomas, feeling tiredness numb his mind, took a long shower to cool off, then put on his pajamas and bundled up under his blankets. Like every evening, he took out his pendant hidden under his shirt to contemplate it for a few moments, appreciating the heat and the light that emanated from the crystal before falling asleep.

The living room was silent. The artificial lights from outside shine behind the windows.

Natasha couldn't sleep. Her mind was cluttered with too many thoughts to close her eyes. So she got up around 11 p.m., made a hot drink, then sat on the couch to enjoy the calm of the large room.

It isn't unusual for the spy to stay up late at night. It could happen because of nightmares related to the Red Room or missions that almost cost her life. But that wasn't the case this evening. No bad dream had come to haunt her. Since she was with the Avengers, her nights were more peaceful and her sleeplessness became more rare. So the fact that she was awake at that time was something exceptional for Black Widow.

Well, not completely.

The young woman thought about the mission that the superhero team had carried out in Iowa, in particular on the surprisingly calm behavior of Thomas. She had known for a long time that the boy was smart and a talented hacker. If Nick Fury took the trouble to recruit him as an agent of SHIELD despite his young age, it's because the boy undeniably had experience. Now that she saw him at work by blowing up the NEXUS system and during the intervention of the Avengers at the Mad Wolf base, she couldn't deny that the Director's words were true : Thomas was a real help for them. Without him, she and her comrades would probably have taken much more time to stop the criminals and the bombs.

But it wasn't the talents of the Spiderling who intrigued Black Widow… It was something else.

Suddenly, as she was lost in her thoughts, Natasha heard footsteps approaching her.

**"Natasha ?"**

The young woman recognized Clint's voice. The archer sat next to her.

**"Are you okay ?" **_Hawkeye asked his friend._

**"I'm having trouble sleeping. And you ?"**

**"Same thing. Impossible to fall asleep."**

Silence. The two assassins didn't need words to understand each other. They have known each other for years, and their friendship remained intact despite the trials they face as heroes. And if the two of them were still up late at night, it was because they certainly had the same ideas in mind.

Natasha let a few minutes pass by when she finished her drink, then put the cup down on the coffee table in front of her.

**"Did you notice Thomas's behavior during the mission ?" **_She ends up saying._

Clint turned his head to his friend.

**"Yes. The boy was very calm."**

**"Too calm."**

The young woman paused.

**"Thomas told us he was sixteen. He is still a growing teenager. And yet his behavior was closer to that of an adult than a person his age. As if... As if he'd grown up too quickly." **_Her last sentence ends in a whisper._

Natasha's eyes darkened. Her memories of the Red Room resurfaced in her mind. The training, the gunshots, the operations... She clenched her fists to keep control of her emotions.

**"I understand what you mean." **_Clint__replied. He let a moment of hesitation pass, then he spoke again. _**"Come to think of it, we know nothing about the kid. I have the impression that he chooses his words to keep his distance from us. Not because he doesn't like us... But because he may be afraid that we got attached to him."**

**"**... **That's possible."**

Silence again. The two spies may not have said it out loud, but they shared the same concern for Thomas. This boy was a real mystery, and the fact that he remained alone and quiet didn't reassure them at all. Suddenly, an idea lit up in the archer's head.

**"There may be a way to know more about Thomas."**

**"How ?"**

**"By interviewing the person who knows him best... His former boss, Cameron Owen."**

Natasha's eyes were slightly wide. That's right... Thomas had talked about his old job as a waiter when they first met, and had mentioned the name of this man. No doubt that he must know who Thomas Flanders was. Tony had already discussed with Cameron and assured that the man was trustworthy.

**"I see. It's indeed a track to exploit."**

**"Have you thought about something else ?"**

**"It's about his powers. He told us that he became a mutant after being bitten by a radioactive spider. I only know one company that can create this kind of prowess, and the SHIELD has already intervened there in the past…"**

Clint and Natasha looked at each other. The same determination could be read in their eyes. They wanted to know more about Thomas. He was their apprentice, and they wanted to protect him. Not out of obligation, but because they cared about him.

**"I will conduct my investigation in this laboratory to see if my hypothesis is the right one." **_Said Black Widow._

**"Alright. I take care of chatting with Mr. Owen to learn more about the kid."**

They exchanged a knowing smile, then once their fears were allayed, the two Avengers returned to their rooms.


	8. A memory tainted with ashes

_Hey._

_Well… Let's say that this chapter was more harder to write than I though, ant it's one of the longest that I wrote so far (and to translate). But I didn't give up and I was able to go through it._

_Take care of yourself._

_That said, enjoy your reading._

* * *

If there was one thing that Cameron Owen liked, it was the days he spent at his restaurant.

Every day there were people, in the kitchen but also in the dining room : his employees on duty, always meticulous in their work, but also the regulars of the Orange Sunset coming from all over New York. Since the owner of the Diner was in charge of the bar, he saw customers coming one after the other, ranging from office workers to ordinary citizens, and he took the time to chat with them if they felt the need. This proximity was greatly appreciated by the public, just like the exemplary behaviour of the waiters to whom they willingly give tips. The days when Cameron used to hear cynical remarks about his choice to employ young orphans at the start of the Diner seem far away now.

Even today, customers were present. His waiters were doing a great job and the atmosphere at the Diner was as pleasant as always, but Mr. Owen still kept a close eye on the large reception room from the bar. Not because he fear that his employees might break something, but to make sure that their service is not disrupted by people with a rude or disturbing behaviour - particularly among girls - and act immediately in case of danger. This is why he always keeps a gun and a taser on him : even if it'd been years that he was no longer an agent of SHIELD, he remained a very good fighter. If a threat arises, he will be the first to react.

It was around ten o'clock, and Cameron was about to make coffee when he heard the front door open. He turned his head, and then he saw a man with a leather jacket, a dark red shirt, a black cap and sunglasses. The boss of the Orange Sunset stared at the customer for a few moments, even if he made sure not to show it.

_Strange... I don't remember having ever seen this man here. Given his look, it looks like a spinning outfit. Mr. Stark, maybe ? Hm… Probably not, because I gave him access to the private parking lot of the Diner to come to the Orange Sunset in all discretion._

Cameron was silent for a few seconds, then he took a deep breath and politely greeted the man in the leather jacket who was waiting in front of the bar, his gaze lost in the whole room.

"**Hello, sir. What can I do for you ?**"

"**Ah, hello.**"_The customer quickly turned his head towards the man with black glasses. _"**Are you Cameron Owen ?**"

"**Indeed, it's me.**"

There was a little moment of hesitation when the two men silently stared at each other.

"**... That's weird, your features seem familiar to me.**"

"**I'm often told that.**"_Cameron smiles amused. _"**Some people tell me that I look like Tom Hiddleston, but I don't dare to compare myself to this talented man.**"

"**Now that you say it, it's true that there is something like him.**"

Mr. Owen chuckled, which made the customer smile.

"**Can I get you something ?**"_Asked the boss of the Orange Sunset._

"**Maybe later. In fact... I would like to talk with you.**"

The man in the leather jacket leaned slightly forward, then briefly lowered his sunglasses so that the man was the only one to see his face. Cameron gasped when he realized that the person in front of him was Clint Barton, but he managed to keep his cool. He suspected that SHIELD agents would've patrol everywhere in New York in order to intervene in case of a suspicious action, even in a neighborhood as peaceful as Cobble Hill. However, Cameron didn't expect to see one of the best spies of the secret society in his workplace.

Seeing that the archer was waiting for an answer from him, Mr. Owen looked around him to make sure no one heard them, then whispered in a low voice :

"**Wait a few seconds, then we can go to my office, at the back of the building.**"

"**Alright.**"

Cameron then went to the other side of the bar and pressed a button, while speaking into a microphone :

"**Call to staff ! Those who are available come to see me at the bar.**"

One of the waitresses in the dining room turned towards the boss, and ran towards him : a young girl with short blue and green hair shaved on the left side, with blue eyes, a dark lipstick and black glasses. Hawkeye noticed the headset the teenager was wearing, understanding better the usefulness of the microphone and how the employees can move so quickly.

"**Do you need help, sir ?**"

"**Could you replace me for a moment at the bar, Rebecca ? I have to talk with a particular customer.**"_Cameron pointed a finger discreetly at the archer, and he lowered again his sunglasses to reveal his identity to the teenager. Rebecca immediately seemed to understand who he was, and she turned her head towards her boss with a big smile._

"**No problem, boss. Take your time. We take care of everything.**"

"**Thank you.**"

The waitress sat at the bar, while Cameron and Clint walked together towards an area reserved for the staff. The two men walked along a corridor, then they arrived at the boss's office. When he was sure nobody followed them, Mr. Owen closed the door behind him while Hawkeye took off his cap and sunglasses. They both sat across from each other, and Cameron couldn't help the smile on his lips. It wasn't every day that he had the opportunity to talk with one of the Earth's Defenders, and he couldn't deny that his superheroes fan's heart was delighted.

"**Thanks for receiving me, Mr. Owen.**"

"**No problems, Mr. Barton. It would've been rude of me to refuse a service to an Avengers. And don't worry, nothing from our discussion will come out of these walls. Me and my employees know how to keep secrets.**"

"**I saw that. In any case, you are more observant than most people we come across when we go out.**"

"**What surprises me the most is that a simple cap and glasses are enough for a popular superhero to become a complete stranger on the street.**"_The owner of the Diner shrugged with a smirk._

Clint laughed. He had barely met Cameron, but he already liked his playfulness.

"**So… why did you want to see me, Mr. Barton ?**"

"**Well... It's about Thomas.**"

"**Thomas ?**"_Cameron paid all his attention to his interlocutor._

"**Yes. Don't worry, he's fine ! He's not sick or anything. But...**"_The archer paused. _"**The kid has been with us for a while, and yet we know almost nothing about him. He gets along well with us, but he doesn't talk about himself and tends to be alone most of the time. Especially since he looks much more mature than his age. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but I don't think it's his real personality…**** That what we see of Thomas is his true self.**"

Cameron remained silent during Hawkeye's talk. He wasn't surprised by the questions of the hero in front of him… It had been over a month since his former employee had seen his life turned upside down, and the boss of the Orange Sunset suspected that a member of the superhero team ends up noticing that the young boy's behavior was far too adult for a sixteen year old teenager. He had thought the same thing himself during Thomas's first weeks of work in his restaurant, where even if he managed to smile and have fun with his friends of the orphanage, the kid never completely showed himself... Until his spider powers are revealed to him following a panic attack, and the teenager tells him after this incident all the horrors he suffered during four years.

Cameron was deep in thought... He understood why Thomas didn't want to tell his past to the Avengers : he didn't want to be looked with pity by people he admire. His mutant nature wasn't easy to live with either because he had to hide his powers so that he didn't attract the attention of malicious individuals who would seek to arrest him. But the boy was mostly haunted by deep wounds that barely healed... Who knows how his superiors would react if they learned that he was a former child soldier trained by their worst enemies ?

The adult with glasses understood that Thomas was just trying to protect himself. However, he also knew that the young boy needed trustful people by his side to free himself from his torments and finally be able to be who he wanted to be.

After a moment of silence that seemed to last forever, Cameron put a few strands of his hair behind his ear.

"**What a coincidence… Mr. Stark also shared these questions with me not too long ago.**"

"**Really ? Does he come here often ?**"

"**Only when I go to Brooklyn after a meeting. The coffee is delicious.**"_Suddenly answered a familiar voice behind Clint._

The archer turned around, and his eyes widened when he saw that the billionaire was actually there, leaning on the edges of the door with his arms crossed. Cameron had a more cool attitude, but no less surprised.

"**Tony ? What are you doing here ?**"_Hawkeye asked, though he was sure no one had followed him._

"**I want to understand who is this smart but yet incredibly discreet kid, and I told myself that this dear Mr. Owen here could enlighten me on certain things.**"

Tony then walked over to the boss's office, taking one of the chairs in his path, then he sat nonchalantly next to his fellow superhero comrade.

Cameron was deep in thought again... What if they were the people who could help Thomas to get out of his torpor ? What if they were the ones who could offer the young boy a chance to live like he wanted ? The sincerely concerned and determined look of the two men in front of him convinced him more and more that his instinct was the right one. If the kid had managed to open up to him in the past year, there was no reason why he couldn't do the same with the Avengers.

However, Mr. Owen remained cautious. The extraordinary circumstances of Thomas's new life and the possible consequences of discovering his identity don't really help him to want to speak, hence this lack of communication on his part. Therefore, the man had to find a way to unblock this particular situation in his own way.

Cameron thought for several seconds, then sighed.

"**Thomas is a kind and selfless boy, who never expects anything in return. He is always ready to help those who need it, especially the people he cares about. But he's also a boy who is afraid of disappointing others. He wants to avoid causing trouble for those around him at all costs, so ****he sort of "fades away" and draw the least attention to himself****. Which doesn't really come out of the blue… He and his friends come from the same orphanage, and they learned early on to not be dependent on others.**"

"**Because people looked at them with contempt, I guess ?**"_Tony said._

"**Yes. It's difficult for children like them, precocious and without ties, to grow up in a society that considered them as marginalized beings, "different" from "normal" children... Like many communities within the population.**"

Tony and Clint looked at each other for a short time. It's true that the foster care system for abandoned children had many flaws : between the overcrowded institutions, social workers who don't really pay attention to the orphans and their slowness to act about reports concerning foster families who were found guilty of violence… It's not surprising that young people like Thomas mature more quickly than people their age.

"**When you ****inculcate**** in young children who find themselves alone in the world that they can only rely on themselves to move on, they inevitably end up forcing themselves to grow up faster than they want and to limit their interactions with others out of fear of being hurt. Thomas is like that... It took him a while before he told me that he had powers. Not because he didn't trust me, but because he feared that I would reject him because of his mutant nature.**"

"**But you didn't.**"_Clint __said in a matter-of-fact tone__._

"**No. Unlike fools like Secretary Ross who would willingly give up their dignity to openly spit their hatred for extraordinary beings, I wasn't afraid by Thomas's powers.**"

"**I'm glad to see we're not the only ones who can't stand this man.**"_Tony smirks._

"**I'm honored. However, I can't blame the kid for being so careful... People don't like what's out of the norm or when people show any sign of weakness. So we take on ourselves, we hardened ourselves in order to live as normally as possible, even if it goes against our own integrity.**"

The billionaire couldn't help but draw parallels with his own past when he heard Cameron's words. He looked away to the right, then saw newspaper covers and photos of the Avengers pinned to a cork board. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but looking closely at the news headlines posted on the front pages, one stood out more than the others: "fire of an institution in Brooklyn", dated to the same year when the Chitauris attacked New York. Tony remembered vaguely hearing about this incident in the news, but he was too busy dealing with his nightmares and trauma to care about anything other than his sanity. However, the word "fire" awoke a strange impression within him... But he didn't have time to think more about it when Cameron's voice brought him back to himself.

"**Mr. Stark ? Everything's alright ?**"

"**Hm ? Oh, sorry. I was lost in my thoughts.**"

"**Iron Man in deep reflection ? That's a first.**"_Clint joked._

"**Shut up, Katniss.**"_Tony replied, but with no real venom against the archer. _"**I was just wondering what was this incident mentioned in this front page.**"_The hero pointed to the cover pinned in the cork board. __Cameron immediately understood what Tony was talking about when he saw the front page about the fire of the former orphanage of his employees__._

"**Oh... The Forescent orphanage incident. It's an old case that occurred in Brooklyn Heights, today classified as closed.**"

"**A case ? Can you tell us more about it ?**"_Hawkeye asked._

Mr. Owen remained silent for a few seconds, weighing the pros and cons over what to say, then readjusting his glasses.

"**It happened six years ago. Forescent was an institution known in Brooklyn for its exemplary service with abandoned children. It was in this place that Thomas and his friends lived, as well as sixty children. But one day, without anyone expecting it, the building was devastated by a violent fire. Fortunately, there were no victims, but the orphans were left homeless after this tragedy. Only my protégés were able to be placed in another reception center in Brooklyn, while their comrades had to be moved to a nearby province. The case hit the headlines for a while, but it was quickly overshadowed by the alien invasion in New York and the appearance of the Avengers a few weeks later.**"

"**And the results of the investigation have been revealed ?**"_Tony asked._

"**For what the police said to the media, it didn't give any result. Forescent has been completely burned. Everything had gone to ashes, so all clues proving that it was a technical accident or a premeditated act were destroyed. This is why the case was quickly closed. Today, no one remembers this incident and the former orphanage no longer exists. It was replaced by a typical apartment building in the neighborhood.**"

Tony and Clint remained silent. Who would have thought that such an incident happened in this influential district that is Brooklyn Heights ? Given the layout of the buildings in the neighborhood, it was a miracle that the fire didn't spread beyond the orphanage, especially for the young orphans who were able to escape in time from their home before the blaze became out of control.

After knowing this story and adding Cameron's speech, the two Avengers began to understand better who was Thomas. The image they had of him became a little sharper, but it was still blurred. The three men continued to chat for an hour, where the boss of the Orange Sunset gladly answered his interlocutors's questions, then someone knocked on the office door. Cameron allowed the newcomer to enter, and the shape of a young boy who appeared to be the same age as the spider mutant appeared in the doorway. The latter noticed the presence of the two heroes and, at first in shock, recovered quickly and greeted them politely.

"**Yes, Leon ? What's going on ?**"

"**People are starting to flock, boss.**"_Said the boy named Leon. _"**The service may soon be overwhelmed.**"

"**Oh, I see. I'm coming.**"_Cameron got up from his chair, then looked at the two Avengers. _"**Sorry to have to cut short this interview.**"

"**No, it's alright.**"_Tony reassured. _"**It's nice to have given us some of your time, Mr. Owen.**"

"**You're welcome. If you want to go back here, the back of the restaurant is open to you.**"

"**I'll think about it next time.**"_Clint said._

"**It'll save you from looking like a shady guy.**"_The billionaire smirks while looking intently at the clothes of his comrade._

"**Hey !**"

Cameron chuckled, then left the room after shaking hands with Hawkeye and Iron Man. Since they had nothing more to do in the morning, the two Avengers decided to return to the Tower. The billionaire and the archer got up and went towards the private parking lot behind the Orange Sunset, then they got into the gray Audi R8 that Tony had taken to go to the Diner. Clint insisted on driving and sat down on the driver's seat without giving the genius the time to protest. Tony let out a sigh, but still sat down next to his colleague.

The ride was spent in silence. Hawkeye's eyes were fixed on the road, while the mechanic watched the buildings scroll through the window, his mind clouded with thoughts... For a reason he didn't know, the Forescent orphanage incident seemed to revive something in his memory… As if he'd already experienced a similar situation when he started as Iron Man. He saw himself again in one of his first suits, looking at a huge blaze that shone in the night. Despite his helmet, the man remembered the burning smell that invaded his nose and the stifling heat that emanated from the flames, and the features of a frail figure taking shape through the orange firelight. Tony thought at first that he was thinking too much or that he mistook it with other similar incidents he has faced over the years, but these fragments of memories seemed far too real to be an illusion created by his brain.

Cameron's words also came back into his mind : "grow up faster than they want", "limit their interactions with others out of fear of being hurt"... He had the impression of seeing his former reflection in a mirror, when he became the heir of Stark Industries. After the death of his parents, he didn't let anyone see his sadness or his pain, not even the people close to him. There's only under the walls of his room or his lab that he allow himself to put his mask of genius playboy philanthropist billionaire aside for a short time, and let his emotions overflowed.

Suddenly, Tony realized that Thomas shared a lot in common with his past self. An outstanding intelligence, a calm personality but no less devoid of determination, silent about his past...

_What if the kid had experienced the same torments as me ?_

The thought made the billionaire's hands shaking. He managed to hide them from Clint, who still noticed his friend's unusual silence. The rest of the ride was done without a word, the two Avengers trying to piece together a puzzle which they ignored the lines.

Thomas lifted the protective glasses he had been wearing for more than two hours. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his hand, and he let out a satisfying sigh.

He had been working on the "force field" functionality of his optimized handwrists for a week. He wanted to make sure that in addition to projecting a shield that could protect him from any enemy attack, he could be able to launch it and make it bounce on surfaces like Captain America. Thanks to the STARK technology he had in the workshop and with the help of his mentor, the mutant managed to achieve this feat. Even if he was only an agent of SHIELD doing exclusively remote missions, Thomas wanted to take precautions and maximize his defensive means if a threat arises.

"**Whew... Finally done.**"

"**Good work, Thomas.**"_Congratulated the AI._

"**Thanks, FRI.**"

"**Do you want me to record the experiments and the results of these new functions ?**"

"**I would like it. Can you also copy it to my computer, please ?**"

"**Of course.**"

Thomas took the opportunity to stretch his arms and take a deep breath. When his muscles were relaxed, the young boy suddenly heard steps approaching the lab. By listening carefully, he recognized the sound of high heels slamming on the ground. He turned his head toward the entrance to Tony's workshop, saw the doors open, and saw Pepper. She was elegantly dressed in a white jacket, shirt and skirt, black heeled shoes, and her blond hair were carefully tied in a ponytail. Thomas couldn't help but admiring this woman's charisma, who had nothing to envy to that of Natasha and Wanda.

It had been a while since he and the CEO of Stark Industries had known each other after Tony decided to take him as an intern. Pepper was at first skeptical when her fiancé informed her of this choice, but the mutant was quick to show her his spider powers and the extent of his intelligence during a demonstration of his spy arsenal in front of her. After that, the young woman and the agent of SHIELD discussed more and more together outside work, and ended being good friends with each other. Thomas greatly respected Pepper, and Pepper enjoyed the company of the boy.

The mutant removed the glasses he had on his forehead and greeted his superior.

"**Hello, Miss Potts.**"

"**Oh !**"_Pepper noticed the young boy in the room. _"**Hello Thomas. You are very early.**"

"**I woke up early this morning. I was looking forward to finish a new feature on my optimized handwrists.**"

Pepper laughed softly.

"**It's like I hear Tony when he has a new idea in mind. It's impossible for him to sleep before he gives it a form.**"

"**Really ?**"

"**Yes.**"

Thomas couldn't help but smile as he imagined the scene. Pepper then took a short moment to observe the young boy : disorganized brown hair, a black outfit with a gray jacket fastened to the belt, protective gloves, bright eyes at the sight of his inventions, meticulously calculated gestures… She had the impression of seeing a miniature version of the man she loves, as he described himself when he was at the MIT.

_This boy looks a lot like Tony… And not only physically. _She thought.

The CEO of Stark Industries came closer to Thomas and took the opportunity to pat the mutant's head, while smiling at him. The spy was briefly surprised, but he let it done without a word. Pepper's hand was soft and smooth, which contrasted with the rigorous one of his mentor, but both had the same soothing warmth. Thomas found it nice.

Suddenly, the young woman noticed a thread that wrapped around the young boy's neck. It was difficult to distinguish it from far, but it was more visible when viewed from close up. It looked like the tie of a necklace.

"**Thomas ?**"

"**Hm ?**"

"**What is it ?**" _Pepper asked curiously, while pointing the black thread._

"**Oh...**"_Thomas went up the thread until his crystal pendant came out of his shirt. _"**It's a memory of my parents. I've had it since I was little, and I've never being separated from it since.**"

Pepper suddenly felt bad. Tony had told her that the boy was an orphan, and she was afraid of having touched on a sensitive subject.

"**I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't have asked for that.**"

"**No, it's fine.**"_Thomas reassured. _"**It's normal that you asked the question. I don't have the habit to show my pendant, because I'm afraid that it'll be taken from me.**"

"**I understand.**"

There was a silence. Pepper was about to speak again, when FRIDAY's voice rang out in the lab.

"**Miss Potts, Thomas. I inform you that Sir has just returned to the Tower.**"

"**Ah. Thank you, FRIDAY. I'm going to catch him before my next appointment.**"_She started to walk away towards the exit, then she turned around and made a small wave to the mutant. _"**Until next time, Thomas !**"

"**Goodbye, Miss Potts.**"

"**You can call me Pepper, sweetie.**"_On these last words, the young woman went away._

Thomas stood still for a few minutes, then decided to return to his room. He put his optimized handwrists on him, headed to the elevator and returned to the Avengers private floor. Once alone in his lair, the agent of SHIELD lay down on his bed and remained slumped without moving an inch. His eyelids started to get heavy, but he didn't have time to doze off because he heard knocks on his door.

"**Thomas ? Are you there ? It's Bucky.**"

"**Yes, I'm here.**"_Replied the young boy._

The super soldier entered the room and saw the spy in the dark, staring at the ceiling.

"**No lab session with Tony today ?**"

"**No. I didn't see Mr. Stark this morning. But I was able to finalize a new function for my optimized handwrists, so it's cool.**"

"**Hm... You're not against having my company, then ?**"

"**No.**"

Bucky smiled, then sat on the edge of the bed. Thomas sat cross-legged on the bed to face the adult, his curly hair falling down his face. White Wolf joked that the young boy always had a messy hairstyle, and the concerned replied that there was no point in combing his hair since everyone patted his head on every occasion. The super soldier giggled, then a soothing silence settled between them. It wasn't unusual for conversations to end this way, given that Thomas didn't talk that much. Bucky wasn't the most talkative of the Avengers either, although he managed to rebuild himself thanks to Steve and his integration into the team. But strangely, it's in these moments when no words are spoken that the Earth's Defenders felt closest to their apprentice.

After a few minutes where time was suspended, Thomas spoke again.

"**Mr. Barnes.**"

"**Yes ?**" _Bucky look at the teenager._

"**It's probably none of my business, but... How did you become an Avengers ?**"

The super soldier was surprised by the question. However, he remembered hearing Pietro speak about a similar discussion he had with the agent of SHIELD. And when he saw the curious look of the mutant directed at him, the adult understood that the kid really wanted to know how he became White Wolf, his new superheroic alter ego. Since the boy was aware of HYDRA and his former identity as the Winter Soldier, he was able to speak freely to him about his past experience.

Bucky was silent for a few seconds, then sighed.

"**It happened two years after the attack of New York. At that time, I was still the Winter Soldier, a prisoner of the mind control HYDRA operated on me. I was aware of what I was doing and what I was hearing, but I couldn't control my own body.**"_The soldier's eyes darken as he thinks back of this horrible period. _"**But one day, without I expect it, I was attacked by something. I still don't know what or who it was, but all I remember is that after it appeared, I passed out on the ground without having time to react.**"

"**Have you passed out instantly, or were you still conscious before you passed out ?**"_Thomas asked cautiously, knowing that he had stayed with Bucky after injecting him an amnesiac._

"**No, I was totally oblivious. However, when I woke up, I remembered my past in the American army : my rescue by Captain America, my participation in the Howling Commandos, but above all my friendship with Steve… As the memories came back in my memory, I finally remembered who I was : James Buchanan Barnes. The mind control of HYDRA was gone, and this time I was in full possession of my body.**"

Thomas didn't expect this. The amnesiac have allowed Bucky to regain his memory ? Was it because the mutant injected the entire content of the tranquilizer into his neck, or was it the Super Soldier Serum inside him that caused this side effect ? Either way, this intervention freed White Wolf from the toxic control of his torturers.

"**Once I became aware of my true identity and what I have suffered and committed for more than 70 years, I hated myself... I hated the one I had become by those who were my enemies during the war. When I understood that I was in the armory of this bastards, I wanted to make them pay. I took up weapons and killed several HYDRA agents before fleeing as far as possible to an isolated place of Eastern Europe.**"

"**Did you manage not to get caught ?**"

"**Yes. I was lucky. It wasn't until I calmed down and was safe from the danger that I wondered what I should do. I hid for a while, and it was after hearing the story of the attack of New York that I learned that Steve was still alive. I decided after that to find him. However, my metal arm constantly reminded me of my crimes as the Winter Soldier, and I knew I couldn't move freely because of my reputation as an assassin… So I made a radical decision : I torn off my left arm myself.**"

"**What ?**"_Thomas's eyes widened._

"**Yeah… I tore off this cursed arm created by HYDRA and I destroyed it. After that, I managed somehow to reach America. It wasn't an easy task with a missing arm, but I was lucky not to come across the criminal organization or the SHIELD during my escape. I ended up in Washington DC, exhausted and drained of all strength. I no longer had the energy to move, so I fell asleep against a tree... And it was Sam who found me during a jog, amputated and with a pale face.**"

"**Falcon ?**"

"**Yep. He took me home and helped me get back on my feet. We sympathized quickly and let me stay at his house until I found a solution for my missing arm. It was then that I revealed to him that I was James Buchanan Barnes, the war hero believed to have died in fight. He had a hard time believing me at first, but when I told him about my soldier past in detail and that I was put in a cryogenic state like Steve, he finally realized that I really was Sergeant Bucky Barnes.**"

"**I imagine his head when he realized he was talking to Captain America's right arm.**"_Thomas chuckled. _"**I welcome a war veteran with the face of Sebastian Stan who was close to the symbol of America under my roof ? Huh, we must be Thursday.**"

"**Haha, it's exactly that ! But it was also thanks to him and his meeting with Steve that I was able to be reunited with my best friend...**"_Bucky smiled, thinking back to the day when he could hug Cap again. _"**I was so happy to see him again that I burst into tears.**"

"**I knew that, too...** "_Thomas whispered, putting __strands of his hair__ behind his ear._

Bucky then tell his life alongside his new comrades : Steve welcomed him into his small apartment to make up for lost time, and they kept in touch with Sam. After having learned the horrors he suffered because of HYDRA and his transformation into the Winter Soldier, Cap decided to help him regain his confidence again and take a new start. He took him to Wakanda to make him a new vibranium arm by the princess Shuri and to make sure that his mind was no longer corrupted by HYDRA's mind control. Thomas understood better why he didn't remembered that Bucky had a dark-hued left arm with orange grooves. It was when Nick Fury decided to declare war on HYDRA after the appearance of Cain that Steve wanted to integrate the former assassin and Falcon to the Avengers to strengthen their ranks. If this decision was a long source of debate in the SHIELD, Bucky's knowledge of the criminal organization and his fighting skills proved to be very useful for the secret society. This is how the super soldier became White Wolf (name given by the royal family during his time in Wakanda). It took a while before people forgot the existence of the Winter Soldier and more for the sergeant to open up to others, but now he was accepted into the Avengers and is recognized by all as a superhero.

Thomas was speechless. Not only did his indirect actions seriously damage HYDRA, but they also allowed Bucky and the Maximoff twins to have a chance to repair their mistakes and live a better life by serving the good. Who would have thought that his personal revenge could have brought such changes without him realizing it ?

Bucky, noticing the mutant's silence, reflexively put his hand on the young boy's head and stroked his hair. The teenager didn't know how to respond to that, so he looked down and let the adult ruffle his strands of hair. The super soldier smiles as he sees Thomas's more shy behaviour, reminding him of how Steve was when they were children.

_That's strange… I have the impression that this gesture seems to awaken a hidden part of Thomas that he doesn't seem to show to many people. _Bucky thought.

At that moment there was a knock on the door. Vision appeared and warned the sergeant and the agent of SHIELD that lunch was ready. Bucky and Thomas followed the synthezoid to the living room, where all the other Avengers were gathered. The meal was dynamic, although quieter than usual. Tony kept thinking about the discussion he had with Cameron Owen and those fragments of memories he didn't know the origins. He observed from time to time the young mutant seated at the end of the table, always calm and mute, his eyes lost in the void. Come to think of it, the billionaire has never heard Thomas complain since he arrived at the Tower. He is kind and polite on a daily basis, but he disappears once nobody look at him. It's as if the kid was playing his own role and was afraid of showing his true personality. And observing some of his comrades, who sometimes looked back at him, Tony realized that he wasn't the only one to have the same thought.

The afternoon went by. Each Avengers had returned to their own business, be it training, a mission report or a walk. The philanthropic genius had to go to a meeting of Stark Industries with Pepper, and he sighed during the ride while thinking of the monotonous atmosphere of these appointments. That said, he preferred to attend a presentation of boring economic graphics than to support the presence of Secretary Ross. The man's aversion for superhuman beings disgusted him. But Ross hadn't been around for a while since his failure to sign accords by the United Nations to control the actions of the Avengers. Tony didn't know if it was a sign of abandonment of his part or not, but he promised to himself that he won't let this man cross Thomas's path.

As expected, the hero was bored as hell during the meeting. Everything the announcer said passed from one ear to another, and his thoughts were still too obstructed by his discussion with the boss of the Orange Sunset to pay the slightest attention to the subject that was displayed on a slideshow. He saw the memory of this fire playing in his mind, but even if he'd used all his genius, he couldn't remember what had happened before this event. Pepper noticed the lack of interest of her fiancé and was about to firmly reprimand him, but when she saw his gaze lost in the void, she stopped. She didn't want him to have a possible panic attack. So she put her hand gently on Tony's hand to reassure him. The billionaire became aware of it and smiled at his fiancée, who returned it to him.

After two hours far too long for Tony's taste, the billionaire sighed in relief as he left the meeting room. He and the CEO of Stark Industries returned to the Tower, and Pepper decided to take advantage of the tranquility of their quarters to ask Tony some questions.

"**Tony ?**"

"**Hm ? What is it ?**"

"**You looked elsewhere during the meeting. Are you alright ?**"

Ah... He had forgotten how observant Pepper was, especially about him. He thought for a moment to avoid the question and get to his workshop, but he knew that it was useless to hide anything from his beloved. She knew him far too well. Tony sighed and collapsed on an armchair.

"**I'm worried about Thomas… He is a very smart and courteous boy, but he is completely silent about his past. Even during our lab sessions where we are together, he speaks very little about himself, or indirectly. Sometimes, I have the impression of seeing my old self in front of me... And that worries me.**"

Pepper understood what Tony meant, and walked over to take him in her arms. The billionaire relaxed and let out a sigh against his fiancée. They stayed like that for several minutes, a soothing silence surrounding them. Pepper ends up releasing him, although she continues to stare at Tony.

"**You know... I saw him this morning at your lab. He showed me a memory he keeps from his parents.**"

"**A memory of his parents ?**"_Tony was surprised. It was the first time the teenager mentioned his family. _"**And what is it ?**"

"**A crystal pendant. It had a rather singular form. Thomas told me that he had it since he was a child.**"

A necklace… Tony understood better why his intern wore fairly large shirts : it was to hide it inside. Probably to avoid it for being robbed.

There was a moment of hesitation, where the two lovers doesn't know what to say.

"**… The last thing I want is to see the kid follow the same path as me.**"_Tony admitted. Him who usually had a hard time talking about his emotions, he'd managed to put words into a thought that kept resonating in his head since he spent time with the mutant. _"**He's still young... I don't want him to force himself to act like an adult and think that it's the only way for him to live. He shouldn't be ashamed of being selfish from time to time. He shouldn't be afraid to use his powers if he feels the need. And above all... He's just as legitimate as us to be happy.**"

Pepper watched the billionaire for a few seconds, then she smiled tenderly at him. She saw how much Tony had grown since the Mandarin incident and thanks to the presence of the Avengers at his side. He didn't drink as much as he used to anymore, he did his best to get a good sleep schedule and was able to say more easily how much he cares about the people he loves. She also noticed that Thomas's presence made him feel good : he was in awe with the teen's physical and intellectual abilities, he added several protocols for him in one night to ensure his comfort and safety at the Tower, and he even had the idea of creating for him a spy suit entirely made of STARK technology. Pepper knew that Tony's biggest fear was to become like Howard and kept wondering if he could be a good parent if they had a child. However, seeing the attention the billionaire paid to Thomas, the young woman was certain that he would be a good father.

"**It's cute that you worry about him.**"_Pepper said. _"**It shows that you are more honest with yourself.**"

"**Heh... Maybe I do have a heart.**"

"**I never doubted about it.**"_The young woman laughed softly._

Tony couldn't help but smile and got up to kiss his fiancée. They spent the evening together, enjoying a good meal before watching a movie on television. They didn't really pay attention to what was happening on the screen and just enjoyed being huddled together, something that didn't happen as often as before because of their respective responsibilities. When FRIDAY reported that it was eleven pm and forty, Pepper decided to go to bed because she had to leave early the next morning. Tony was now alone in the sofa.

The billionaire stared at the ceiling without really looking at it, then wondered if Thomas was asleep. He heard frow afar a discussion between Quicksilver and his sister about the kid's insomnia. He was well aware of this unpleasant feeling of not being able to have a peaceful mind to the point of refusing sleep, and after what he'd learned about the mutant earlier - and knowing his role as an agent of SHIELD, it didn't seem strange to him that a boy like Thomas could be insomniac. Tony got up and headed for the Avengers quarters. He walked silently down the corridors to the teenager's bedroom, gently opened the door and let his eyesight get used to the dark before approaching the bed. The adult saw a figure appear under the blanket, still, eyes closed and breathing regularly.

Tony sighed in relief when he saw that Thomas was sleeping. He sat down on the edge of the bed so that he didn't wake him up, then ran a hand through the young boy's curly hair. He stayed a few minutes like this and saw how softer Thomas's face was when he was in Morpheus's arms. During the day, he always looked off, especially when he was listening music. However, when night fell, his features seemed release from any weight, like when you take off a mask that is too heavy after a show.

The hero watched the mutant for a second that seemed like an eternity, then he whispered :

"**What kind of suffering are you carrying on your shoulders, kid ?**"

Tony remained silent for a while, seeing the boy move his head slightly on his pillow, before speaking again.

"**Don't worry, Tom. I won't leave you behind. Neither me nor the Avengers. Everyone recognized your talents and your powers, but also your kind heart. You're part of the team, no matter what anyone would say. And also...**"_He paused. _"**I like spending time with you.**"_Again a pause, but shorter than the previous one. _"**If you have any problems, you can tell me. I'm here for you.**"

The billionaire masked a yawn with his hand. It was time for him to sleep. He slowly got up from the bed, walked towards the entrance, then left, silently closing the door behind him.

In the dark, Thomas opened his eyes. He heard what Tony had told him. He never imagined that the Avengers cared so much about him.

The young boy thought about these four terrible years when he could only rely on himself to break the chains of HYDRA that derailed his fate... Then his father's words came into his mind.

_Make sure my son lives in the light._

Was it really possible ? Could he be any other thing than a black cat ? Could he really live in the light ?

Thomas pulled out his pendant under his pajamas and looked at it in the palm of his hands : it emitted a white glow more radiant than before, although it remained tainted. It's as if he saw the moon shining in the sky. The more he stared at the crystal, the more he felt soothed by the soft light and warmth that came from the gemstone. The mutant let himself be gently carried away by sleep, clutching his pendant against his chest like a flickering flame similar to the one he had felt during his life at Forescent.

A flame that looked like hope.


	9. Heat haze

_Hello._

_My finals were complicated because of the actual context. But while I'm waiting September to see if I'll graduate or not, I can finally found time to write again._

_Friendly reminder : Thomas Flanders is Peter Parker._

_That said, enjoy the reading._

_ (Also, thanks for the comments. Sorry if I didn't find time to answer to them because of my studies, but it makes me happy to know that my story interest people)_

* * *

Dawn was beginning to break over New York. The giant buildings shone with a yellow light as the sun appeared in the sky.

Thomas was sitting on the edge of the Avengers Tower, cross-legged and gazing at the horizon. The wind circulated between the buildings, which made his hair float and uncovered his face. The young boy kept his gray jacket which rested on his shoulders with one hand to prevent it from flying away.

His mind wandered elsewhere, while he was lulled by the peaceful and quiet atmosphere around him. Spring gradually gave its way to summer : the days were longer, and the nights were shorter. The inhabitants of the metropolis changed their winter clothes for more loose clothes. The greenery of Central Park was even more radiant and full of life than usual, as if the nature took back its rights and was about to engulf the city. The view he had of Manhattan was magnificent.

However, despite the beauty of this picture-like landscape, Thomas had a deep aversion for the hot season. The warm air of summer reminded him of the fire that has taken away his family and his old house in Queens, only five days after his birthday. He still vividly remembered the suffocating heat of the flames, the smell of the charred foundations and his hands soaked in blood. His innocent and happy childhood had been totally reduced to dust on that night of August 15, 2009. And after this incident, bad luck continued to pursue him : his abduction by HYDRA, his training as a child soldier, his mutation by the radioactive spider's bite, the discovery of the truth about the murder of his parents, his revenge desire against the criminal organization and his escape... All these misfortunes had in common to happened when the good weather began to appear. Coincidence ? Or the fate that was ironic ?

Whatever it was. Thomas hated summer. For him, this season wasn't a sign of vacation. It was a sign of bad omens.

As his vision became cloudy, the mutant heard footsteps approaching him. He turned around and saw Tony.

"**Ah, so this is where you're hiding every morning.**"_The billionaire said._

"**... I've been coming here for a while, but yeah.**"

Tony smirked, then sat down next to the agent of SHIELD.

"**Did you follow me ?**"_Thomas asked curiously._

"**No, I just asked FRIDAY if there were members of the team who were already awake.**"

"**Hm...**"

Silence settled between Iron Man and the mutant. Thomas looked at his mentor : he was more muscular when seen up close than in the press photos. Which wasn't that surprising given his hero status and all the manual work he did daily in his lab for him or for the Avengers. His facial features were firm but they were nonetheless soft and warm. Thomas could clearly discern in his idol's gaze a burning determination, a strong and unshakable desire to protect the world and those who are dear to him. The light from the sun brought out this glint in Tony's eyes.

Thomas was aware of what his mentor had lived in the past when he hacked HYDRA's database : his imprisonment in Afghanistan, his confrontations with Obadiah Stane, Ivan Vanko and Aldrich Killian, not to mention the attack on New York and his fights against the criminal organization alongside the Avengers... Anyone would've break down after having been confronted with so many trials. Perhaps he was at some point. He was human after all. And yet, despite the problems he encountered as a person and a superhero, Tony continued to defend the Earth against any human or supernatural threat with force and courage.

_Mr. Stark was made to be a hero. _Thomas thought. _Unlike me, who was conditioned to be a child soldier... I'm not worthy of being one._

Tony suddenly noticed that the young boy looked at him.

"**Something's wrong ?**"_He asked._

"**No, it's nothing...**"

"**Of course.**"_Tony said sarcastically. _"**But seriously kid, are you okay ?**"

Again, a silence.

"**… Time flies too fast.**"_Thomas ends up saying._

"**What do you mean ?**"

"**This morning, I woke up and I thought : We're truly in June ? It's really been three months since I moved to the Avengers Tower ? I haven't even seen the time go by. I barely blinked my eyes, and it's already summer.**"

"**Oh... It's true that you arrived here in March.**"

Thomas nodded.

"**And what do you think of this life at the Tower ?**"_The billionaire curiously asked._

The mutant was surprised by this sudden question.

"**… At first, I didn't know what to think when I got here. I didn't know what else I could bring to the team, given that I never use my powers and that most of the time I stay locked up in a room to hack all the time. But...**"_He paused. _"**I feel good here. Everyone is nice to me, I enjoy the lab sessions I have with you and the sunrise I see here is beautiful.**"

A smile appeared on Thomas's lips. At first, the young boy thought that he wouldn't stay long at the complex and just do what he was asked to do until either the SHIELD or the Avengers got tired of him. However, as the days went by, the group of superheroes were more and more attentive to him : they made sure that he ate well during meals, they invited him to go outside with them so he could relax and they kept him company as much as possible. It was even more true for Tony, who made sure that the kid feels at home at the Tower. When they weren't working on a project, the billionaire and the mutant discussed about everything and nothing, sometimes made fun of each other without real mischief, and it happened that his mentor invited him for a movie night just the two of them or with Pepper when she was here.

For the first time in many years, Thomas had regained the feeling of being treated like a human, and not a furniture.

Tony smiles in turn when he sees his intern. The kid became more expressive since his arrival, and the only times he's off were limited to the moments he listened music. He also had an easier time speaking with everyone on the team, just like Bucky after becoming an Avengers. If he was still silent about his past, seeing Thomas being more and more happy warmed Tony's heart. However, although the young boy seems to have gotten used to this new life, he still had a hard time to detach himself from his role as an "agent of SHIELD" and to be more free to behave like a normal teenager. Tony had experienced this phase at the MIT where he was better known as Howard Stark's son than for what he was himself. He wasn't given the opportunity to be like any other child, and the billionaire didn't want Thomas to live the same thing.

An idea suddenly sprang up in the genius's mind.

"**Hey, kid.**"

"**Yes ?**"

"**How about we go shopping today ?**"

"**Huh ?**"_Thomas was confused._

"**It's been three months since you're in the Tower, but your room remained hopelessly empty all this time. You live here, so it's better that you have a private space that suits you and in which you feel good, right ?**"

"**Uh... Yeah it's true, but...**"

"**Ah ah, I'll stop you right before you say something stupid. I don't do it by obligation, I do it because I want to make you happy.**"_Tony put his hand on Thomas's shoulder to reassure him._

"**...**"_The teenager stayed silent for a few seconds while thinking, then he spoke again. _"**And I can ask for anything ?**"

"**Of course Underoos, as long that it's not PEGI 18.**"

Thomas rolled his eyes and scoffed, but he still smiled.

"**Are you sure that it doesn't bother you ?**"

"**Not in the least. I'm a billionaire, after all.**"

"**… Well ok, why not.**"

"**Alright, kid. First I have to settle a few things with Pepper this morning, then we can go out to Manhattan during the afternoon.**"

"**Okay.**"

Seeing that day had fully risen in New York, Tony and Thomas got up and join the Avengers when Steve and Bucky finished preparing breakfast. Only Natasha, Clint and Bruce were absent. Thomas was enjoying the pancakes and the still steaming eggs on his plate with delight, and Pietro - who was sitting next to him - took the opportunity to ruffle his hair. The spider boy instantly replied, running his hands through his eldest's white hair, which made Wanda and a few members of the team laugh around the table.

When the meal was finished, most of the superheroes left to train in the numerous training rooms of the Tower. The Maximoff twins and the agent of SHIELD decided to practice exercises together in a huge indestructible room where they could unleash their enhanced capacities as they pleased. Thomas already knew Pietro and Wanda's powers, but he felt his blood getting cold when he saw on his holographic screens Scarlet Witch being able to stop a building of several floors to collapse with her magic and Quicksilver being able to defeat enemies with the same body as Captain America without problem at the speed of sound. Let's say that the young boy was happy to be their ally rather than their enemy.

The small group prepared in the locker room to dress in uniforms created especially for them to have full mobility, then they met in the middle of the room with gray blue hues. Since they had similar superhuman abilities, Pietro and Thomas wanted to test their skills first. The spider boy could see with his own eyes the super speed and increased strength of his eldest, but he managed to parry his blows and stop him in his race by throwing webs on his legs at the right time. He couldn't help but smile mischievously when he saw Pietro fall on the ground when the Sokovian tried to take him by surprise. Then it was Scarlet Witch's turn to confront the agent of SHIELD. The young woman refused to use the full potential of her powers on her little brother because she doesn't want to accidentally hurt him, but she still remained on her guard. Thomas had more trouble predicting Wanda's attacks, but his spider sense was very helpful in this kind of situation. His empty mind allowed him to unseat his opponent and attack her, although she had no problem immobilizing him with her magic when she saw him coming.

Two hours later, the three mutants put an end to their training, exhausted and drenched in sweat. Several punching bags were lying on the ground and black traces similar to explosions had appeared on the walls. Thomas understood better what it was like to fight against people with powers, and the Maximoff twins learned new ways to use their skills. The runner was the first to regain consciousness and helped his siblings to get back on their feet. After showering and putting on their normal clothes, the three mutants returned to the Avengers quarters, sat on the living room sofa and discussed about various topics : the latest music that Wanda learned on the guitar, the times when Thomas called Nick Fury "old man" to annoy him, the best pranks that Pietro does to Clint… These moments of complicity had become a habit for them, and they really enjoyed laughing together.

Some time later, Scott and Sam saw the group in the living room.

"**Hey, youngsters !**"_Said Sam._

"**Hi !**"_Answered said youngsters._

"**You finished your training ?**"_Asked Scarlet Witch._

"**Yep ! Even if we spent more of our time being blown off by Steve and Bucky…**"_Scott showed two big bruises he had on his forearms._

"**Outch.**"_Muttered Thomas._

"**Wow ! They didn't go half way !**"_Pietro noticed._

"**Oh no. Tic-Tac was unlucky.**"_Sam laughed. _"**He tried to surprise Cap by shrinking his shield, but the latter saw it coming and charged him with a punch. The poor guy had to take the blow while gritting his teeth.**"

"**How about you, who waltzed into the air after Bucky caught you by the wings with bare hands and make you crash on the ground ?**"

"**Hey !**"

Scott grinned, while Thomas, Wanda and Pietro giggled. Then Ant-Man and Falcon sat down near the mutants and talked with them for the rest of the morning. The other members of the team soon joined them, with the exception of Thor, who had to return to Asgard for an important mission.

After the Avengers had lunch in a relaxing and friendly atmosphere, everyone went out to do several activities : Steve and Bucky went to visit the old quarters of Brooklyn, Sam wanted to see former war comrades at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Pietro and Wanda went for a walk in Central Park and Scott took advantage of this rest day to spend time with his daughter Cassie and Hope Van Dyne. Only Rhodey, Vision and Thomas remained at the Tower.

The teenager stared at the ceiling of his room, his earphones playing a slow and haunting melody, like he did every time he wanted to let his thoughts evaporate. In truth, nothing prevented him from going to Tony's lab and carrying out his own projects there. His mentor had given him free access to the entire complex. However, since he didn't want to cause a disaster due to a handling error, Thomas preferred to stay away from all potentially dangerous rooms. In addition, summer was the period when the agent of SHIELD had the least desire to move. All he wanted was to shut himself up in a dark room and forget the existence of this cursed season. He already didn't like the heat, but it became more unbearable for him because it revived in him deep scars that he didn't want to bring out.

The mutant sighed, then he got on his side to fix the wall. Suddenly, his phone vibrated. Thomas straightened up when he saw Tony Stark's name on the screen. He was quick to answer the call.

"**Hello, Mr. Stark ?**"

"**Hey, Tom. I just finished what I had to do at Stark Industries. Are you still at the Tower ?**"

"**Yes.**"

"**Good. I'm going back to change, then we can go to a mall to find what you need for your room. See you in ten minutes at the underground parking.**"

"**Oh, uh... Okay, got it.**"

Thomas hung up, then he looked at the time on his screen : ten past three. The young boy, realizing that he had a limited time to prepare himself, got up at full speed and opened his closet to dress in a simple and comfortable set : a midnight blue t-shirt with the symbol of the Star Wars Resistance on it, a gray jacket with a hood whose sleeves he rolled up to his forearms, black pants and gray sneakers. He hesitated a few seconds to take his black mask which he used to wear every time he went out, but he ended up leaving it on his bedside table thinking about the outside temperature and finally opted for sunglasses Phoebe had offered him last year.

When he was ready, the agent of SHIELD walked to the elevator and let FRIDAY lead him to the Avengers Tower's basement. The huge garage was bathed in a white light that highlighted all the cars stored by the billionaire, ranging from the oldest models to the most recent, as well as some vintage motorcycles. Thomas was impressed to see so many vehicles gathered in one place. He looked right and left to see which brand of car he recognized, which seemed easier to drive, how the emergency exits were arranged... The young boy looked at every details, from the most obvious to the smallest one.

It was at that moment that Tony arrived in a more casual outfit than his usual three-piece suits : a black shirt, a matching dark jacket and pants with purple and orange patterns, black shoes and a pair of blue sunglasses. The genius noticed that the teenager was wearing glasses similar to his, and a smile appeared on his lips.

"**Nice glasses, kid.**"

"**... Thanks.**"_Thomas looked away, a bit embarrassed. He didn't expect to wear an accessory almost identical as his idol._

Tony laughed softly, then stroked Thomas's hair. This boy could be really cute when he wanted to. The hero and the mutant then made their way to a gray Audi and left the Compound to go to Manhattan Mall. Once arrived there - and having put their hoods on their heads -, the two men strolled in the aisles of the building until they found a furniture store.

At first, Thomas didn't really know what he wanted for his bedroom, since he always had a modest pace of life. Whether in his former home in Queens or at the orphanage, he had learned to be content with few things and to live unpretentiously. That's why the only thing with value for him is his crystal pendant. However, after an hour pacing the shelves and joking with his mentor, the mutant began to like this shopping afternoon : he had a new desk table, a removable chair, a bookcase and a wardrobe with sliding doors. The boy had insisted for not having a new bed because the one he had at the Tower was already good for him, but he accepted that Tony would find him colorful blankets that changed from his white or gray sheets.

While the billionaire took care of delivering the items to the Avengers Compound, Thomas took the opportunity to go get some books and posters he had seen at discounted prices. He chooses one on Alien, one on Lord of the Rings and four on Star Wars. When his selection was complete, the mutant was about to join Tony when something caught his eye. Something brilliant, which stood out from the shelving where it was exposed. The young boy turned his head to his right and saw an Iron Man helmet for children, randomly arranged among other products of the Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Thomas recognized the model… It was the same that his parents had offered him when he was six years old.

The young agent stood still, silently staring at the helmet, then took it in his hands to look closely at it. He remembered the first time he wore it and ran around the house pretending to shoot rays with his fake repulsor gloves. It was too big for his head and he had trouble seeing in it, but the little boy he was didn't care : he was just happy to look like his favorite hero. He smiled and laughed with his parents, his uncle Ben and aunt May… He smiled innocently, like any ordinary child.

Thomas sighed, then put the helmet back in its place.

_And to think that the first time I met Mr. Stark was to save me from a tragedy... Fate must really hate me._

"**Thomas ?**"

The teenager heard Tony's voice not far from him. He came to meet his mentor.

"**Sorry to be away, Mr. Stark.**"_Thomas apologized. _"**The furnitures has been delivered ?**"

"**Yes, they'll arrive tomorrow morning.**"_Tony paused. _"**You know that you can call me Tony, right ?**"_The man raised an eyebrow._

"**Yeah, I know. But I think "Mr. Stark" suits you better.**"

"**Say that you like to make me feel old.**"

"**I don't know what you're talking about.**"_The mutant smiled slightly, no trace of nastiness in his voice._

Tony rolled his eyes, but he smiled too and stroked the boy's hair again. They paid the books and posters, and finally left the store at around five PM. They returned to the car, put the purchases on the backseat, then left for the Avengers Tower. After returning to the complex, Tony went out of the vehicle and stretched his arms to relax his muscles, relieved to not be stuck in a small space anymore. Thomas left shortly afterwards, taking his things out of the car.

There was a silence, then...

"**Mr. Stark.**"

"**Hm ? What is it, Thomas ?**"_Asked the superhero, turning to watch the teenager._

"**… Thank you for this outing.**"_Thomas rubbed the back of his head. _"**It was great.**"

"**No worries, Tom.**"_The adult wrapped his arm over the kid's shoulders. _"**You saved our asses more than once and you are an absolutely adorable boy. You deserved to relax and think about yourself.**"

"**Language.**"

"**... Seriously, kid ?**"

"**Sorry. It was too tempting.**"_Thomas answered, laughing softly._

Tony was close to let out a big sigh, but he gave up the idea when he saw the mutant with such a bright face. He simply patted his intern's head with a smile while saying "sassy little spider", which made the boy laugh again.

Thomas then plunged back into his thoughts... He hates summer, it was a certainty. For him, it was only a horribly long period that crystallized all his bad memories. However... Seeing the Avengers show so much kindness to him, who congratulates him for the efforts he made in training or on mission, and to see how close he had become to the man he has always admired since his childhood... The young agent of SHIELD thought that he had perhaps finally found a place he could call "home".

_This beginning of summer isn't so bad, after all._


End file.
